Deputies kill domestic violence suspect

Deputies with the Polk County sheriff’s office shot and killed a domestic violence suspect who fired at them with an AR-15 rifle, authorities said Saturday.

“The message is abundantly clear,” Sheriff Grady Judd said in a press conference on Saturday. “You don’t point firearms at our deputies. And if you do, we’ll shoot at you. A lot.”

Around 8 a.m., deputies responded to a domestic disturbance on the 4000 block of Cottage Hill Street in Lake Wales, Polk County sheriff’s office spokeswoman Carrie Horstman said.

Shannon Jason Cables, 46, hit his 45-year-old wife and 19-year-old daughter with a pool cue and doused them with Mace spray, Horstman said. The victims fled to a neighbor’s home and were later taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for their injuries.

Detectives arrived at the home to investigate the incident, while deputies set up a perimeter near the house to search for Cables, who had fled the residence.

Shortly after 2 p.m., the victims returned to the house with four Polk County deputies, and one of the victims spotted Cables near the back of the home, Horstman said. He was holding the AR-15 rifle and a shotgun.

“The suspect pointed the AR-15 in the direction of the detective who was yelling at him to drop it, at which time a gunfight ensued,” Horstman said. Two other deputies helped to shoot down Cables. None were injured.

Judd said Cables was taken to the Lake Wales Regional Medical Center where he later died.

Cables had been in jail three times before on charges including fleeing to elude arrest, boating under the influence, and grand theft.

According to the sheriff’s office protocol, the deputies who fired their guns have been placed on paid administrative leave while detectives conclude the initial investigation, Judd said.