Army veteran is shot dead by police 'after she pulled a gun on them when they were called to investigate report saying she punched her neighbor after trying to hug his teen daughter'

A US Army veteran was shot and killed by Florida deputies after authorities said she pointed a gun at them as they investigated a violent clash with a neighbor. 

Tracy Drowne, 42, trained her Smith & Wesson handgun at two deputies who responded to a battery call on Tuesday afternoon, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said in a statement. 

Deputies Nathan Henley and Joseph O’Neil shot at Drowne, striking her. 

Sheriff Mina said both officers rendered first aid until paramedics arrived. Drowne was then taken to a hospital, where she later died.  

The incident began unfolding hours earlier, when Drowne allegedly had a bizarre encounter with her neighbor's 15-year-old daughter, Madison Brannon. 

Brannon told News 6 she was out running in the neighborhood when Drowne approached her and struck up a conversation about her 'dreams,' then asked to hug the teen, saying she was her 'sister.'  

+4

Deputies opened fire on Drowne after they say she aimed this handgun at them 

+4

Andrew Santisteban said he called 911 to report a battery after Drowne allegedly charged at him and hit him in the corner of his eye 

The girl told Drowne she was making her uncomfortable, then went home and told her father about their neighbor's odd behavior.  

'I said, "You don’t have any right saying those things. Please stay away from my children, don’t talk to her anymore,"' the girl's dad Andrew Santisteban said, recounting his conversation with Drowne. 'She ran into my yard and hit me on the side of the face.'

Santisteban's doorbell camera captured Drowne, dressed in a pink T-shirt, yelling at him outside his house before allegedly charging at him and punching him in the face, as Fox 35 reported.  

Santisteban called 911 to report the battery, summoning deputies to Fountain Coin Loop in Avalon Park at around 4.30pm. 

As the officers approached Drowne's residence, the Army veteran reportedly emerged holding a gun and raised it toward the deputies, which prompted them to open fire, according to the sheriff's office.  

Santisteban's doorbell camera captured Drowne, dressed in a pink T-shirt, yelling at him outside his house. The argument was over the woman's conduct involving the neighbor's 15-year-old daughter  

+4

As deputies approached Drowne's home, the retired servicewoman allegedly pointed her gun at them, prompting them to open fire 

Drowne’s ex-husband, Salvador Perez, told the Orlando Sentinel that Drowne had been struggling recently and refused to get help. Perez and the couple’s two daughters live in California.

'There were issues that she was dealing with,' Perez told the newspaper. 'She thought everyone was out to get her and she didn’t trust anybody.'

He said she served in the Army and had been deployed at least twice. He said she worked in finance and on contracts for the military, but had since retired.

In 2013, Drowne was honored with a US. Army Acquisition Award for contracting excellence, when she was listed as a sergeant first class, the Sentinel reported.

The two deputies are on administrative leave pending an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The sheriff’s office is also completing an internal review.

Fox Television Stations, LLC Privacy Policy