SORRENTO, Florida—The man who fired several shots and barricaded himself in a shed Wednesday night is being held in the Lake County Jail on no bond.
According to a heavily-redacted report, a juvenile at the home on Swan Road was upset and Gregory Tippett, 62, who lives at the home, went outside and grabbed melatonin container and threw it at an undisclosed person. Tippett then said he was going to leave and went to get something out of the refrigerator, a witness told the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. The relationship between Tippett, the witness and the juveniles was not available in the report.
Shortly after, the witness said she heard screaming and saw Tippett in his truck and one of the juveniles throwing things at Tippett because he was being verbally abusive, and one of the juveniles made an accusation that Tippett was hurting someone, but it is unclear who, due to the heavy redaction in the report.
The witness told Tippett she was going to call law enforcement and Tippett said he was going to grab his gun. The witness heard five shots go off and she took the juveniles outside and they got into her vehicle, but could not leave because she did not have her keys.
When deputies arrived on scene the witness gave them a gate code to enter the property and told them Tippett was last seen in a shed on the property that housed several firearms. LCSO ordered Tippett to come out and attempted to talk to him in the shed. Tippett exited the shed and was given commands to come out and show his hands and he refused and retreated back into the shed, the report states.
LCSO’s SWAT team responded to the scene and took Tippett into custody without incident. He was transported to AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares and treated for a gunshot wound to the leg. It is unknown if he shot himself accidently or intentionally, LCSO Lt. Fred Jones told Inside Lake and he was arrested after he was medically cleared. Tippett is facing three charges, including child abuse, battery and firing a weapon on residential property. He is being held in the Lake County Jail on no bond.
