Holly MatkinDaytona Beach, FL – A Daytona Beach police officer opened fire on a suspect armed with a “sharp object” while responding to a report of a domestic disturbance on Dec. 17 (video below).
The incident began at 9:51 p.m., when someone called 911 about an argument that broke out between two men at the Icon One Apartments inside One Daytona, the Daytona Beach Police Department (DBPD) said in a press release early Friday morning.
The reporting party told the dispatcher she could hear someone banging on doors and throwing glass, WKMG reported.
The 911 operator could also hear screaming in the background, according to the news outlet.
As police were responding, a second caller told the 911 operator that one of the men threatened to stab someone if any law enforcement officers showed up at the scene, according to the DBPD.
“If I see a cop, I’m going to stab a [expletive]!” he allegedly said, according to WKMG.
Bodycam footage showed an officer pulling into a parking lot off of Legends Lane.
“I’ll be out with one by the entrance,” the officer radioed. “Give me another unit over here. He’s real aggressive and he looks like he’s got a knife in his hand. I’m backing away.”
The officer reversed the vehicle before throwing open the driver’s door and repeatedly ordering the armed suspect to get onto the ground, the video showed.
The suspect, later identified as 25-year-old Andrew Mansilla, immediately charged one of the officers while carrying a “sharp object in his hand,” the DBPD said.
“Don’t make me shoot you!” the officer warned as Mansilla closed in.
The officer fired a single round, momentarily sending the attacker stumbling backwards.
“Get on the ground!” the officer ordered again.
But Mansilla promptly returned to his feet and started to rush the officer for a second time just before additional shots rang out.
The suspect immediately dropped to the pavement, bleeding heavily from a gunshot wound to his neck, according to statements made in the video.
Police quickly rendered aid to the wounded attacker, who was subsequently transported to Halifax Health Medical Center in critical condition, according to the DBPD.
During a press conference the next day, Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young told reporters that one officer attempted to use a Taser to subdue Mansilla prior to the shooting, but it was ineffective, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.
“It was not enough to stop the threat,” Chief Young explained. “The subject continued to advance towards officers where thee more shots were fired.”
Two officers fired their duty weapons during the encounter, the DBPD said in the press release.
They have been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, as per standard procedure, according to the department.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is handling the ongoing investigation into the officer-involved shooting, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.
Mansilla’s fiancé, Hunter Harrison, said he was the person with Mansilla out in the parking lot when the shooting occurred, WKMG reported.
Harrison accused the officers of “police brutality,” according to the news outlet.
“I’m just confused and hurt I don’t know what’s going on,” Harrison said. “For what the officers did, it goes to police brutality.”
“I come back to my apartment (complex) where he laid down in a pool of blood and it killed me,” he told WKMG. “Killed me when I heard the first gunshot.”
Harrison said he has been with Mansilla for four years.
“I’ve been through a lot with this guy,” he told WKMG. “Love’s not gonna tell you who to fall in love with.”
Chief Young told reporters that Mansilla’s attack on the officer was the second time police had dealt with him that day, The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
“We also encountered him earlier tonight on another call, where, I believe it was his other half, was armed with a knife and was involved in a separate altercation,” the chief said, according to WESH. “So, this was the second time we came in contact with this gentleman in the same shift.”
Mansilla has also been accused of slashing a security officer at the Rolex Tower at Daytona International Speedway after he allegedly broke into the facility on Nov. 8.
Police said he was armed with two knives during that encounter, and that he charged at the security officers with the blades when they confronted him, according to WKMG.
He was arrested for aggravated burglary, armed burglary, and aggravated assault as a result of the attack.
Chief Young said Mansilla has a history of mental health issues, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.
“Obviously, something’s not right with this guy. Like I said, we have a history with him. We may never know what caused him to act the way he did this evening,” the chief said, according to WFTV.
Watch the incident unfold in the video below. Warning – Graphic Content and Obscene Language:
