Manatee County authorities stop gunman who crashed vehicle into nursing home, began shooting
A man was arrested after he crashed his car into a Bradenton nursing home and shot at two Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputies and a nursing home employee early Friday morning, the Sheriff says.
The Bradenton Police Department received a 911 call from an employee at Aspire Living at Palma Sola Bay at 6305 Cortez Road at 3:25 a.m.
According to law enforcement, an employee saw Sean Calcutti, 40, crash into the front of the building and load a hand gun. When the employee approached Calcutti, he fired a shot at him but missed. The employee went back inside the nursing home and locked the doors. Calcutti then shot at various windows, trying to enter the nursing home.
Two deputies headed to the nursing home after receiving a request to assist by the Bradenton Police Department When they arrived on the scene, deputies located Calcutti and told him to show his hands and get down. He refused to comply and began firing gunshots at the deputies. The deputies returned fire, and one of the deputies was struck in his left arm. The deputy is doing well and will be going home Friday night, Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells said.
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After shooting at the deputies, Calcutti fled about a quarter of a mile from the nursing home. With assistance from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office’s canine unit, deputies were able to find him at 5:44 a.m. and took him into custody. The gun he was carrying dropped out of his shorts while deputies apprehended him.
“In the beginning, it’s just concern and worry over the condition of my deputy,” Wells said. “Once I realize that he [the deputy] was going to be okay, there’s joy and relief. From that point, I go into redneck anger, where I’m absolutely pissed off at what this scumbag has done.”
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While the suspect ran from the scene, the deputy who wasn’t shot took the injured deputy to a nearby Shell gas station, where he put a tourniquet on the deputy’s arm to stop the bleeding and eventually took him to the hospital.
“He [Calcutti] should be thankful that we are an agency that trains properly and doesn’t treat people the same way that he treated us,” Wells said. “He didn’t care about my deputies, their wellbeing or their families.”
While the deputies regrouped at the gas station, Bradenton Police officers, Holmes Beach Police officers and Palmetto Police officers helped set up a perimeter around the nursing home.
Deputies aren't sure why Calcutti crashed into the nursing home, but they’ll continue to investigate and will interview him later on Friday. Wells couldn’t confirm whether or not the man was under the influence of alcohol or another substance. He added that the man had no connection to the nursing home, and there wasn’t anyone who lives or works there that was connected to Calcutti.
Wells called Calcutti a “dirtbag” after he shot at the nursing home employee and two of his deputies. He added that the man had an extensive violent, criminal history in Florida and New York.
In 2010, Calcutti faced second-degree murder charges that were later dismissed in Manatee County. From 2019-2021, Calcutti had three different battery, domestic violence and stalking charges in Manatee County.
“He should not – in my opinion – be walking the streets of Manatee County,” Wells said. “How that has happened, I don’t know.”
Calcutti will face two attempted murder charges for shooting at the deputies and the nursing home employees, along with two other charges for shooting into an occupied dwelling and armed burglary.
Both of the deputies involved in the shooting been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation. None of the 90 residents who lived at the nursing home were injured.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: "Scumbag": Manatee Sheriff calls out man who shot, injured deputy
