A man in Fernandina Beach was shot in the shoulder by a Nassau County Sheriff’s deputy after he opened the door of a home with a semi-automatic rifle and pointed it at an officer.
Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper tells WOKV News it started with an argument between two brothers at a home at 2736 Ocean Oaks Drive South. Timothy Swenson, 48, says that his brother Eric Swenson, 52, was upset because of a cancelled job interview and a family wedding he wasn’t invited to.
The NCSO says Eric became combative and argumentative, eventually pointing a semi-automatic rifle at his brother’s face. Timothy grabbed the gun just as Eric fired it at close range, leaving the side of his face with powder burns.
At this point, Timothy grabbed a hammer and struck Eric in the side of the head, momentarily disarming him. Timothy grabbed their 80 year-old mother and fled to a neighbor’s house.
Eric Swenson barricaded himself in the home, which police soon surrounded. A Fernandina Beach police negotiator tried to get him to come out peacefully, but he refused to do so, according to Sheriff Leeper.
Swenson eventually opened the door and “aimed” his rifle at one of the deputies, who fired at him, hitting him in the shoulder around 7:30 p.m.
He was airlifted to UF Health Jax in non-life-threatening condition. His brother Timothy was treated for minor injuries to his face.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the officer-involved shooting.
Leeper says charges are pending right now.
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