Authorities said her boyfriend shot her outside Spectrum before pointing a firearm at responding officers, who fatally shot him.
AUBURNDALE, Fla. — A 20-year-old mother was fatally shot outside her workplace Friday by a boyfriend who had threatened to kill her, authorities said. Five Auburndale police officers and two Polk County sheriff’s deputies later shot and killed the armed man after he pointed a gun at them.
The shooting happened July 10 in an employee parking lot at the Spectrum office at 1004 U.S. Highway 92 West. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd identified the man as Derrick Brathwaite, 39. The woman’s identity has not been released under Florida’s Marsy’s Law, which protects certain information about crime victims.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office emergency communications center began receiving 911 calls at about 9:12 a.m. The first report described a possible suicide at the Spectrum office, but other callers said shots were being fired. Auburndale officers and Polk County deputies rushed to the property as more calls came in.
Responding officers found the woman on the ground in the parking lot with gunshot wounds, Judd said. Brathwaite was nearby, also on the ground, with a firearm in his hand. Auburndale Police Chief Terry Storie said Brathwaite appeared to be handling the gun as though he were trying to correct a malfunction.
As officers and deputies approached, Brathwaite pointed the firearm at them, authorities said. All seven responding law enforcement officers fired. Officials had not determined how many rounds were discharged or whether Brathwaite fired at officers before they shot him. No officers or deputies were injured.
Officers attempted emergency medical care on both Brathwaite and the woman, but each died from gunshot wounds. Authorities said the preliminary investigation indicates Brathwaite shot the woman before law enforcement arrived.
Judd said Brathwaite and the woman had been in an on-and-off relationship and shared a 3-year-old son. According to family members interviewed by investigators, Brathwaite threatened the woman the day before the shooting and said he would kill her and then himself. Investigators have not said what led to the threat or what prompted the confrontation at her workplace.
The woman left her Lake Wales home Friday morning and dropped the child off at the home of Brathwaite’s parents in Waverly, authorities said. She then traveled to Auburndale, where she worked as a Spectrum customer service agent. Investigators said Brathwaite shot her after she arrived at the employee parking lot.
The child was not at the workplace when the shooting happened. Officials did not release further information about his care, citing the continuing investigation and the family’s privacy.
Authorities said investigators are interviewing witnesses and reviewing surveillance recordings from Spectrum and nearby businesses. Neither the Auburndale Police Department nor the Polk County Sheriff’s Office had body-camera video of the confrontation, according to officials.
Five reviews are expected under standard procedures: an independent investigation by the 10th Judicial Circuit Officer Involved Deadly Incident Task Force, internal reviews by both law enforcement agencies, autopsies by the Polk County medical examiner and a review by the 10th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office.
The officers and deputies who fired will be placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation. Officials said they will undergo mental health screenings before returning to full duty. The preliminary findings could change as investigators examine video, physical evidence and witness accounts.
Author note: Last updated July 11, 2026.