Condo Standoff Ends, Man Dies From Self-Inflicted Gunshot: Police

SARASOTA, FL — A standoff between Sarasota police and an armed former maintenance worker at a Lido Key condo building ended with the man dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound Saturday morning, police said in a news release.

Sarasota police officers began investigating a shooting at a the L’Elegance on Lido Key condo building at 1800 Benjamin Drive just after 11:30 p.m. Friday.

A 58-year-old man, who was a disgruntled former employee after being fired from his maintenance job at the condo building earlier in the week, fired shots into an empty, parked car, police said. After this, he got into a dispute with two other people and then barricaded himself on the condo property.

SWAT and Crisis Negotiation Unit members of the Sarasota Police Department got to the scene around 1 a.m. to negotiate with the man and to try to get him to negotiate peacefully, police said.

Members of the agency’s Emergency Response Unit and Criminal Investigations Division also responded to the scene, as well as K-9, SWAT and Air-1 units from the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office.

The standoff ended when the man was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound just after 7:30 a.m. Saturday, police said. There is no threat to the public and the investigation is ongoing.