Man Secured After Barricading Himself in Deltona Smoke Shop

The Volusia Sheriff's Office announced that it had safely secured a man who'd barricaded himself inside a local business, the agency announced late last week. The subject, a 31-year-old man whose name was not disclosed, had reportedly holed himself up inside Deltona Tobacco and Vape. The incident began at around 6:00 pm on Thursday, when deputies responded to Deltona Tobacco and Vape. The man had reportedly entered with a knife. The store manager safely exited the building as the man reportedly refused to leave. Thankfully, no customers were inside at the time. "We've got a live view on security cams, he's just like...wandering around the back room," a deputy was heard saying over the radio during the incident. Deputies arrived on-scene and began to negotiate with the man through the glass door, the VSO says. In the meantime, the agency contacted other nearby businesses and evacuated them as a precaution. Several VSO personnel were seen stationed around the entrance with weapons trained on the doorway. " We wanna get you the help man, we're not here to hurt you," a negotiator could be heard saying over a megaphone. "We wanna get you help man. Come out and talk to us. Can you crack the door so I can hear what you're saying?" Negotiations continued until around 6:45 pm, when deputies breached the business. The responding deputies were armed with less-lethal shotguns, a tool designed for riot control among other situations to disarm individuals with a reduced potential for severe injury or death. A less lethal round was fired by at least one VSO deputy, but the agency says they do not believe it hit him. Still, the man was said to have appeared startled enough that deputies could move in and handcuff him. He was then Baker Acted, placing him into protective custody at the hospital. The Baker Act, also known as the Florida Mental Health Act of 1971, was passed to empower law enforcement, judges, and health personnel to commit an individual into a mental health care facility involuntarily for up to 72 hours.