A 34-year-old Florida man who claimed he was “Jesus and God” was fatally shot by police after a violent standoff that began with a brutal domestic assault and ended in gunfire outside a home improvement store.
The incident, which unfolded on Friday, April 18, began around 11:30 a.m. when Wayne Volz reportedly got into a heated argument with his parents at their Fort Meade home. According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, Volz pistol-whipped his mother during the altercation and knocked his father to the ground when he tried to intervene, allegedly threatening him with death: “If you want to live, you better beg for your life.”
Volz then held his parents hostage, confiscating their phones and ranting about being divine. He reportedly declared himself both “Jesus and God,” and called his mother “the devil.”
Eventually, Volz allowed his father to leave for his job at Lowe’s in Bartow, about 45 miles east of Tampa — but insisted on going with him, ominously saying he intended to “kill a lot of people” in Bartow.
When they arrived, the father discreetly warned coworkers about his son’s violent behavior. Employees helped hide him inside the store and called 911. Law enforcement from the Bartow Police Department and Polk County Sheriff’s Office quickly responded, deploying a drone and setting up a perimeter.
“We were all running blind,” Sheriff Judd told reporters, describing the chaos that followed.
Deputies soon spotted Volz walking near the store. Despite multiple warnings to stop, he fled and began shooting at law enforcement vehicles, striking a patrol car seven or eight times and hitting Deputy Edwin Alexander.
Officers returned fire. Bartow Police Officer Mark Sills was hit in the chest but survived thanks to his bulletproof vest. Volz was struck multiple times, taken to a hospital, and later died of his injuries.
Sheriff Judd stated that Volz had a history of drug abuse. The wounded officer and deputy are expected to make full recoveries.
The incident is now under investigation by the Officer Involved Deadly Incident Task Force and the Polk County Medical Examiner is conducting an autopsy.
