Rosamond Brookins Obituary, Death; – A woman has died and another has sustained injuries following an incident in which a grandmother shot her daughter in Tampa on Sunday morning.
Deputy Chief Joseph Maurer from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office reported that they received a call regarding a burglary in progress at approximately 4:41 a.m. The residence was occupied by a grandmother, her daughter, a grandchild, and a roommate.
As deputies were arriving at the location, the grandmother, identified as 46-year-old Rosamond Brookins, shot her daughter in the hand. Shortly thereafter, the roommate exited the house with the child, and both were taken to safety.
Two teams of deputies entered the home, one of which rescued the injured victim, the daughter of the suspect, who Maurer indicated seemed to be under the influence of a narcotic.
She was transported for medical care and is currently in stable condition.
A second team of deputies found Brookins barricaded in a back room of the house. The door was locked, and she disregarded multiple commands from deputies to open it.
When deputies forced entry, they discovered Brookins lying on the floor with a gun in her hand. She ignored commands to drop the weapon and began to raise the firearm, at which point she was shot and killed by one of the deputies.
Maurer identified the involved officer as Deputy Joshua Thomas, who has been with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office for ten months and previously served with the Temple Terrace Police Department for six years. He has no prior incidents of using deadly force.
While he could not comment on the motive, Maurer noted that the suspect and her daughter lived together, and Brookins had been asked to leave on Friday. Maurer stated that this was a case of domestic violence and urged anyone experiencing similar abuse to seek assistance.
“Domestic violence is the monster in everyone’s home,” he remarked. “We cannot police in your homes.” As is customary with incidents involving deputies, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement will carry out the investigation.
