Armed Man On Roof Of Dunedin Home Arrested After 6-Hour Stand-Off

DUNEDIN, FL — An 18-year-old man was arrested Sunday after a six-hour standoff with SWAT and hostage negotiation teams.

Pinellas County sheriff's deputies responded to a report of three suspicious men in the area of Fairway Drive and Harrison Drive in Dunedin at 8:07 p.m.

When deputies arrived, one of the men, later identified as 18-year-old Myles Abbott, fled from the deputies. K9 deputies tracked Abbott ran. Deputies said he fired a gun at nearby residents, climbed the roof of a home in the 1000 block of Michigan Boulevard and, at some point, fired his gun again, striking himself in the right thigh.

Deputies spotted Abbott from a sheriff's helicopter, who told deputies on the ground that Abbott was pointing a gun at the deputies.

Deputies attempted to communicate with Abbott from an armored vehicle several times, but he refused to surrender, they said.

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team and the Negotiator Response Team were called to assist. Deputies also brought Abbott’s sister to the scene in an attempt to communicate with him, but were unsuccessful.

After nearly six hours, specialized equipment and bean bag rounds were used to force Abbott off the roof.

Deputies from the SWAT Team took Abbott into custody, and he was transported to a local hospital for treatment of his self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Deputies recovered the gun, which they discovered had been stolen.

Abbott is charged with loitering and prowling, two counts of aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer, two counts of aggravated assault, felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a concealed firearm, resisting an officer without violence, grand theft of a firearm, and there was also a warrant for his arrest for vehicular homicide.

The two men with him, 18-year-old Ki’moni Anderson and a juvenile, were also found to be in possession of stolen guns.