A Polk County SWAT medic was shot during a standoff with a suspect in Winter Haven, reports wfla.com. Deputies say the SWAT team is on scene at Dundee Road, near Carl Floyd Road, where a suicidal subject barricaded himself in a building. "It was a war zone," Sheriff Grady Judd said. On Thursday, Phillips' mom called for help, concerned about his mental health. Phillips jumped from a car with a firearm, shooting once into the air, Judd said. A family member had been trying to take him to Bartow Regional Center. He then ran into the woods.
Once Phillips was barricaded, Judd said attempts to talk to him were unsuccessful. "He would tell us, 'Oh I know this goes.' He said, 'I've already talked to you too long on the phone. You're trying to figure out where I am,'" Judd said. "'He said, 'When I tell you when, you breach the door ... I'm going to blow the place up and we are all going to die.'"
Deputies tried to take Phillips into custody when he started firing. Phillips set the building on fire and exchanged gunfire with SWAT team members, deputies said. SWAT Medic John Mikula was shot in shoulder during the incident. He's in good condition, Judd said. Mikula has been with Polk County EMS for more than 10 years and has been a SWAT medic for more than five years.
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