FBI agents and local law enforcement took a barricaded subject into custody Thursday morning.
Agents responded to Signal Pointe Apartments in Winter Park near the intersection of Howell Branch Road and State Road 436, close to Casselberry.
The FBI confirmed the subject is now in custody and there is no longer a threat to public safety.
“The FBI was executing a court-authorized law enforcement activity in the area,” an FBI spokesperson said. “The barricaded subject has been taken into custody.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed agents were executing a federal search warrant at the apartment complex. Authorities have not released details about what investigators were looking for or identified the person who was taken into custody.
Mark Avella, who lives in the residential neighborhood behind the apartment complex, said he was returning home after taking his children to school when he saw law enforcement vehicles heading toward the complex.
“I was coming back from driving my kids off at school, and about four cop SUVs had their sirens on,” Avella said. “And in between them was a giant, what looked like a SWAT vehicle of some kind, and it had like a giant battering ram thing on the front of it.”
Avella said the law enforcement vehicles were moving quickly as other drivers tried to get out of their way.
“They were just—they were moving pretty quick, and a lot of cars were trying to get out of the way,” he said. “It was pretty wild.”
Avella said he arrived home about 10 minutes later and initially did not hear anything happening nearby.
“I arrived about ten minutes later and didn’t really hear anything,” he said. “So, yeah, kind of a shock to know that it’s right over there.”
He described seeing the SWAT response as unusual for the normally quiet area.
“Once we saw the SWAT, I was like, ‘Oh, man, that’s not a very normal thing to see,’” the neighbor said. “So, yeah, it was pretty crazy.”
News 6 has reached out to officials for additional information and is waiting to hear back.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.