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Gunman shoots up Valrico liquor store, is arrested

Staff photo by INDIRA LEVINE

Deputies took Henry King into custody about 2:30 p.m. No one was injured in the standoff at AJ's Fine Wines at 3451 Lithia Pinecrest Road in Brandon.

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TBO.com

Published: October 4, 2009

Updated: 10/04/2009 11:58 pm

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• Gunman fires in store

Henry King

Deputies ended an armed standoff with a man barricaded in a Brandon wine store shortly before 2:30 p.m. today.

Deputies entered AJ's Fine Wines at 3451 Lithia Pinecrest Road and shot Henry King with a stun gun. He was able to walk on his own to a patrol car.

King, of 101 N. 12th St. in Tampa, walked into the wine store about 11 a.m. with a small-caliber handgun and ordered the manager to leave, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office spokesman Larry McKinnon said.

"Get the hell out of here, and lock the door behind you," King told the woman, the only person in the store, McKinnon said at an afternoon press conference.

The manager called 911, then ran back to the store and found a note taped to the front door. The note indicated King may be having domestic problems, McKinnon said.

While inside the store, King, who was armed with two semi-automatic handguns, poured several bottles of liquor onto the floor and tried lighting the liquor in an attempt to set the store on fire, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

He then shot out two beer coolers and numerous bottles of liquor throughout the store, causing more than $1,000 worth of damage, the sheriff's office said.

The SWAT team and a crisis situation negotiator arrived and started talking to King over the phone. The Publix store next to AJ's Fine Wines was evacuated as a precaution.

"It's obvious this guy was very dangerous," McKinnon said. "He fired eight to nine shots."

It was not clear at the time King was inside whether he was firing at deputies or firing randomly, McKinnon said. No one was injured.

A negotiator established a rapport with King and talked him into coming out, McKinnon said. When King emerged, deputies used the stun gun to subdue him.

After interviewing him, investigators charged King with attempted first-degree arson, criminal mischief, and carrying two concealed firearms.

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