POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – One person was injured Tuesday night in a deputy-involved shooting in Pompano Beach, authorities confirmed Wednesday morning.
According to Broward Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Claudinne Caro, deputies responded to a “shots fired call” near the 700 block of Northwest Fifth Avenue shortly after 9:30 p.m.
“We heard several shots -- like a semiautomatic -- that’s when I picked up the phone, I called 911 and I said, ‘There’s like over 20 shots being fired.’ As I’m speaking to the 911 operator, there are more shots being fired,” one witness told Local 10′s Saira Anwer.
Authorities said 52-year-old Scott Simonelli had fired shots through his ceiling, allegedly targeting his upstairs neighbors. We’ve learned he has had run-ins with this neighbor in the past, and police were familiar with him.
Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony says Simonelli was targeting his neighbor’s unit, where two children live.
He said deputies arrived at the apartment building, they recognized the suspect from past interactions as armed and dangerous.
“We’ve had encounters with him in the past related to Baker Acts and other instability issues and threats of violence in the community,” said Sheriff Tony.
Tony says Simonelli shot at them, and deputies returned fire.
“This could have been a very tragic ambush situation,” Tony said.
Through court records, Local 10 News found that in November 2023, Simonelli was arrested after an argument with a neighbor, during which he had a loaded gun in his hand.
Tony said Simonelli was using an AR-15 and several other guns were found in his unit.
He was shot three times and is expected to survive, thanks in part to the medical care deputies provided immediately following the shooting, Tony said.
“If someone is going to bring a gunfight to this community, we will win every damn one of them,” said Sheriff Tony.
Neighbors who spoke to Local 10 say the man acted as a vigilante in the neighborhood.
“I never see him bothering anybody. I’m always seeing him, like, protecting people,” neighbor Nacoria Lee said about the subject, whose identity has not yet been released. “He even protected me from a guy that was messing with me on the streets -- like always been a protector. I don’t see him just going crazy like that. He was a really nice guy.”
No other injuries were reported.
Per protocol, the deputies involved are on administrative leave and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating their conduct. The suspect was stable at the hospital as of Wednesday evening and is facing two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.
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