Sheriff: Suspect in Florida standoff, gunfire, found dead

A man suspected of trading wild bursts of gunfire with officers during a long standoff in the Florida Panhandle was found dead Tuesday in a gasoline-soaked apartment after an armored vehicle approached, authorities said.

Walton County Sheriff's Office personnel investigate a crime scene in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., Tuesday, May 22, 2018, where Clinton Street, 30, was found dead in his home, in what authorities are calling a suspicious death. (Devon Ravine/Northwest Florida Daily News via AP)

"We were just blessed that we didn't lose multiple officers and citizens today," Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford said at a news conference in Panama City, a small Gulf Coast city near the state's famous sugar-sand beaches. He said a robot had to be deployed to check the apartment before officers could enter, finding the man dead.

No law enforcement agents were shot or wounded but one person leaving her apartment was injured and in stable condition, he said.

A Bay County Sheriff's Office helicopter circles above the corner of 23rd Street and Beck Avenue near where an active shooter engaged with police before running into a nearby apartment complex, Tuesday, May 22, 2018, in Panama City, Fla. (Joshua Boucher/News Herald via AP)

He described the dangerous situation that unfolded Tuesday in the tourist community as a "nightmare scenario for us," with authorities estimating 100 rounds fired during the altercation. Ford said sporadic bursts of heavy gunfire had pinned several officers down at times as the suspected assailant fired from an elevated position with a rifle. Several law enforcement agents had surrounded the apartment building.

The sheriff wouldn't say whether the suspect, 49-year-old Kevin Robert Holroyd, killed himself during the barrage of bullets or if he was struck by an officer's bullet, but he said officers did hear a final, muffled shot from inside the apartment before the scene went silent.

He also said Holroyd doused the apartment in gasoline, saying they believe Holroyd intended to start a fire. Inside the home, authorities also uncovered hundreds of rounds of ammunition, several high powered rifles and flares.

Bay County Sheriff's Office and other law enforcement respond to an active shooter at the corner of 23rd Street and Beck Avenue, Tuesday, May 22, 2018, in Panama City, Fla. (Joshua Boucher/News Herald via AP)

Broadcasters showed televised footage of armed officers kneeling behind police cars and other positions around the building as gunfire continued sporadically and sirens blared.

"These units were taking numerous rounds of fire from the subject," the sheriff said.

Witnesses heard rounds of gunfire between noon and 12:30 p.m. The gunfire peppering officers was so heavy that it shattered the windows of patrol cars along with computers inside the vehicles.

Bay County Sheriff's Office personnel respond to an active shooter at the corner of 23rd Street and Beck Avenue, Tuesday, May 22, 2018, in Panama City, Fla. (Joshua Boucher/News Herald via AP)

During the day Tuesday, authorities elsewhere on the Panhandle said they discovered a suspicious death in Santa Rosa Beach, a community in neighboring Walton County about 40 miles (65 kilometers) northwest along the Florida coast. There, they said, 30-year-old Clinton Street was shot to death — and authorities said they had connected that slaying with the Panama City standoff.

Ford said police officers eventually used an armored vehicle to get to the apartment. Around 2:30 p.m., he said, officers ignited a flash grenade and drove the armored vehicle to break into Holroyd's apartment, and used a robot to search the residence.

Nearby businesses and schools had to be evacuated and several police agencies responded to the scene.

Walton County Sheriff's Office personnel investigate a crime scene, Tuesday, May 22, 2018, in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., where Clinton Street, 30, was found dead in his home, in what authorities are calling a suspicious death. (Devon Ravine/Northwest Florida Daily News via AP)

Kim Allagood, owner of a nearby pizza restaurant, said "tons and tons" of police descended on the area and she locked down her restaurant for close to two hours amid sporadic shooting.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott talked to Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford about the situation in Panama City. John Tupps, a spokesman for Scott, said the main point of the call was to offer state law enforcement assistance.

Walton County Sheriff's Office vehicles and crime scene tape block off a crime scene in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., Tuesday, May 22, 2018, where Clinton Street, 30, was found dead in his home, in what authorities are calling a suspicious death. (Devon Ravine/Northwest Florida Daily News via AP)

Bay County Sheriff's Office deputies enter an armored vehicle at the corner of 23rd Street and Beck Avenue, Tuesday, May 22, 2018, in Panama City, Fla., in response to an active shooter in the area. (Joshua Boucher/News Herald via AP)

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The Maine Legislature approved sweeping gun safety legislation including background checks on private gun sales, waiting periods for gun purchases and criminalizing gun sales to prohibited people before adjourning Thursday morning, nearly six months after the deadliest shooting in state history.

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and the Democratic-led Legislature pressed for a number of gun and mental health proposals after the shooting that claimed 18 lives and injured another 13 people, despite the state’s strong hunting tradition and gun ownership.

“Maine has taken significant steps forward in preventing gun violence and protecting Maine lives,” said Nacole Palmer, executive director of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition, who praised lawmakers for listening to their constituents.

The governor's bill, approved early Thursday, would strengthen the state’s yellow flag law, boost background checks for private sales of guns and make it a crime to recklessly sell a gun to someone who is prohibited from having guns. The bill also funds violence prevention initiatives and opens a mental health crisis receiving center in Lewiston.

The Maine Senate also narrowly gave final approval Wednesday to a 72-hour waiting period for gun purchases and a ban on bump stocks that can transform a weapon into a machine gun.

However, there was no action on a proposal to institute a red flag law. The bill sponsored by House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross would have allowed family members to petition a judge to remove guns from someone who is in a psychiatric crisis. The state’s current yellow flag law differs by putting police in the lead of the process, which critics say is too complicated.

Lawmakers pushed through the night and into the morning as they ran up against their adjournment date, which was Wednesday. But it didn't come without some 11th-hour drama. Lawmakers had to approve a contentious supplemental budget before casting their final votes and didn't wrap up the session until after daybreak.

The Oct. 25 shooting by an Army reservist in Lewiston, Maine's second-largest city, served as tragic backdrop for the legislative session.

Police were warned by family members that the shooter was becoming delusional and had access to weapons. He was hospitalized for two weeks while training with his unit last summer. And his best friend, a fellow reservist, warned that the man was going “to snap and do a mass shooting.” The shooter killed himself after the attack.

Survivors of the shooting had mixed feelings. Some wanted legislative action. Others like Ben Dyer, who was shot five times, were skeptical of the proposed laws.

“A sick person did a sick thing that day. And the Legislature and politicians are trying to capitalize on that to get their agendas passed,” said Dyer, who contends law-abiding gun owners are the ones who would get hurt by the proposals while criminals ignore them. The state already had a yellow flag law but law enforcement officials didn’t use it to prevent the tragedy, he added.

His feelings echoed the view of Republicans who accused Democrats of using the tragedy to play on people’s emotions to pass contentious bills.

“My big concern here is that we’re moving forward with gun legislation that has always been on the agenda. Now we’re using the tragedy in Lewiston to force it through when there’s nothing new here," said Republican Sen. Lisa Keim. “It's the same old ideas that were rejected year after year."

But Democrats said constituents implored them to do something to prevent future attacks. They said it would've been an abdication of their responsibility to ignore their pleas.

“For the sake of the communities, individuals and families now suffering immeasurable pain, for the sake of our state, doing nothing is not an option,” the governor, a former prosecutor and attorney general, said in late January when she outlined her proposals in her State of the State address. Those in attendance responded with a standing ovation.

FILE - A make-shift memorial lines Main Street, Nov. 3, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. The Maine Legislature has approved sweeping gun safety legislation early Thursday, April 18, 2024, nearly six months after the deadliest shooting in state history. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

FILE - Law enforcement officers stand near armored and tactical vehicles in Bowdoin, Maine, following a mass shooting, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. The Maine Legislature has approved sweeping gun safety legislation early Thursday, April 18, 2024, nearly six months after the deadliest shooting in state history. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

FILE - A man walks by flowers and a sign of support for the community, Oct. 28, 2023, in the wake of the mass shootings that occurred on Oct. 25, in Lewiston, Maine. The Maine Legislature has approved sweeping gun safety legislation early Thursday, April 18, 2024, nearly six months after the deadliest shooting in state history. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

FILE - The Maine State House stands at sunrise, March 16, 2023, in Augusta, Maine. The Maine Legislature moved in fits and starts toward adjournment on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, with unfinished business including final votes on a series of gun safety bills that were introduced after the deadliest shooting in state history last fall. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)