Florida Resident Killed Neighbor Suspected Of Domestic Violence, Praised By Local Police As 'Hero'

A Florida resident is being praised after saving his neighbor and her children from domestic violence.

The incident occurred on Wednesday at Trinity, Florida, when the resident heard screams coming from inside his neighbor’s home while mowing his lawn. The victim inside the house was being assaulted by their significant other, while the children had been placed outside the second floor window to protect them. After seeing the children, the neighbor grabbed the pair and brought them to safety.

“That has to be a horrific scene for somebody -- a victim to be placing young children out of a second story window because they're in such fear for their lives inside the house,” Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said during a press conference.

Shortly after, the suspect came out of the house to confront the neighbor getting involved. The man reportedly tried to calm the suspect down as he tried to get back to his house. The suspect then pulled a gun and fired at the man, who pulled his gun and returned fire. While the suspect missed, the man struck the suspect and killed.

“He tried to defuse the situation,” Nocco continued during the press conference.

Police report that the family and man are all OK, but are withholding any names. However, Nocco did praise the neighbor for intervening, saying he was a “hero” for stepping in to help “a victim of domestic violence.”

“Domestic violence is a horrible crime,” Nocco continued. “Unfortunately it's only spoken about when it occurs. We see a large amount of deaths in our county and regionally due to domestic violence. So I hope in times when we're not here talking about it, people are trying to do something to stop it. Because unfortunately we see that's a nexus to a lot of crimes and a lot of deaths.”