Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden held a press conference Wednesday to address the Aug. 8 incident in Crestview where a man was killed after he opened fire on police executing a Risk Protection Order.
Aden said officers repeatedly attempted to contact the suspect, identified as 29-year-old Antonio Haner, and negotiate a peaceful surrender, but decided using force was the only option once he began firing shots at police armored vehicles out his home windows.
Deputies used a ROOK to create an opening at the residence and pinned Haner with an armored vehicle. He continued to fire shots despite being pinned, but ultimately died of his injuries. No officers fired any shots on Haner throughout the entire standoff.
Aden revealed Haner’s wife gave investigators reason to believe Haner could have intended to open fire at Richbourg School, which was just across the street from his residence where the standoff occurred.
“Miss Haner’s testimony was further corroborated after search of the home,” Aden said at the press conference. “A large cache of weapons, ammunition, gas masks and IEDs were discovered. She also acknowledged our worst fear: that her husband believed that she worked for the CIA and the government was telling him to shoot up at school.”
The RPO which granted Okaloosa County Police the authority to gain entrance to Haner’s home, at 607 Alabama St, stemmed from suspicious behavior witnessed days prior.
On Aug. 4, an OCSO Sergeant was inspecting a School Resource vehicle at Richbourg School when Haner approached the school fence holding a “long gun.” Aden said Haner began questioning the Sgt., asking if this “is about the interstate conspiracy.”
“Mr. Haner comes in his backyard and starts yelling at our sergeant. Our sergeant dispels his alarm, meaning Mr. Haner’s alarm, by telling him his case had been dismissed. He basically said, ‘Thanks, I’m sorry. I retract my statement,’ and went back about his business.
The following day, Crestview Police responded to reports of shots fired at Haner’s residence after a Richbourg teacher heard them and saw Haner in his yard holding a long gun. Aden said investigators began gathering information for an RPO the next day, on Aug. 6.
“It took a couple of days and frankly three different encounters [to obtain a warrant],” Aden said. “One being non-criminal, the other was an interaction of concern, and then the third one certainly being criminal. And again, the investigative agency, we just felt like we needed to take action because we were not being told that there was any action being taken. “
Haner’s spouse told police she believed he had schizophrenia and “thought that the government was spying on him,” but she did not believe he would’ve been capable of carrying out a school shooting.
Aden said there is “no reason to believe that there is any current threat to any school in Okaloosa County.”
“I’m just grateful for Richbourg School staff who communicated with our SRO and the Sheriff’s Department,” Okaloosa County Superintendent Marcus Chambers said. “… We did not have any students on campus. Safety is the number one priority in our school district, but it’s also the number one priority for our employees. We did have employees on campus that week. So again, knowing that school was about to start in the upcoming week, I just appreciate getting this done quickly to address it.”
