ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An Orlando family is holding on to hope after they say deputies shot their loved one on Friday. It happened on Merganser Drive, near North Hiawassee Road, around 5 pm. Deputies say they arrived at the home, and a 33-year-old man was holding a knife against them.
However, the man’s mother tells a different story.
“I would never call them for help. No, I don’t feel safe,” said Gail Reed, who spent the night waiting for an update on his son, Antonio Scippio, who was taken to the hospital after the shooting. According to Reed, the 33-year-old was struggling with his mental health when he called for help. “He had a mental illness. They asked me what was his mental illness. Bipolar, schizophrenia, paranoid, you name it, everything.”
The family lives at Merganser Drive, near North Hiawassee Road. Reed told exclusively Channel 9 that she informed the deputies about her son’s condition before they entered her home, but still, things escalated. “I told the officers. I said, Do not shoot my son. You can use a taser; do not shoot my son,” Reed said. “Ma’am, get back. Get back, they said. They back out my front door, and they shot him.”
More than 12 hours after the shooting, the blood marks were still lingering on Reed’s floor by her main door. In a press conference, following the shooting, Orange County Sheriff John Mina praised the deputies for their reponse. “Our deputies did a good job,” Mina said. “They retreated, even backed out of the house, but the man kept going at them with the knife. Really left them with no choice.”
However, on the receiving end of that encounter, the mother refuted Mina’s statement. “How is that a good job,” she said, holding back tears. “Going from zero to 100 and killing a mentally ill, helpless person? That’s not a good job!”
The same feeling was echoed by the man’s niece, who did not share her name or face but told Channel 9 she spent the night next to Scippio. “We’re fighting, hoping and praying that he can make it through this devastating situation,” she said while crying. “You failed us. You failed the community of mentally ill people, and you, most importantly, felt our family.”
Neighbors are also trying to help the family. One of them stopped by Reed’s home to speak with the Channel 9 crew. “I feel like, especially among the black community, when it’s mental health, we are not looked at as it; we are looked at more as criminals if they’re going through a mental health crisis,” she said without sharing her name. The woman was holding arms with her 14-year-old and shared that her younger son has also been diagnosed with a mental health disorder. Her family fears that if they ever need help from law enforcement, they will encounter a similar fate. “I just don’t feel safe, especially with mom called the police, because I know what could happen to my brother, and so, like she said, I think they need to train people to help them with these issues,” said the teen.
The community has started a memorial where the shooting happened. Gail Reed expressed she might take legal action against the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. As of Saturday evening, Antonio Scippio remained in the hospital, breathing with the aid of life support, according to his family.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will now conduct an investigation into the case, which is standard procedure. The Sheriff’s Office has informed it’ll conduct its own investigation once FDLE turns over its findings. The OCSO informed that both deputies involved in the shooting have been placed on temporary paid administrative leave.
Channel 9 has reached out to the Sheriff’s Office with the allegations from the family, including the mother’s claim that she informed the deputies about her son’s condition and if there was any mental health-trained assistance during the encounter. They released the following statement.
We released everything that we are able to release last night. As is our process in all deputy involved shooting, there is no additional information available for release until these investigations are completed.
Here is what we released last night -
On February 21, 2025, at 5:15 p.m., our Comm center received a 911 call from suicidal person. The man gave his name, said he was going to kill himself and then hung up.
Deputies arrived at the home at 6803 Merganser Drive and were let into the residence by a relative. The man came out of a bedroom and walked toward the deputies with a knife. The deputies gave several commands to man to drop the knife, as they retreated backwards and out of the house. The man continued to walk toward the deputies with the knife despite repeated commands to drop the weapon.
Deputies discharged their service weapons, striking the man. They rendered first aid, and he was taken to the hospital, where he underwent surgery. We have no additional information on his condition at this time.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting and will turn over its findings to the State Attorney’s Office for review. Once that process is completed, OCSO will conduct its own internal investigation. The deputies who fired their weapons are on temporary, paid administrative leave pending the initial FDLE review.
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