ORLANDO, Fla. _ For hours, Orlando Police say they tried to negotiate with an armed man accused of shooting aimlessly from his car Wednesday morning.
He barricaded himself in the car in the middle of the road, causing police to shut down several streets and an apartment complex.
So when officers who were scouting with binoculars from a distance say they saw the man was frustrated and his gun appeared jammed, they knew this was their opportunity.
SWAT fired multiple rounds of tear gas and the 22-year-old man opened his door.
Police said the man still had the gun in his hand so officers hit him with a bean bag, a non-lethal ammunition meant to stun a suspect.
Authorities say the two-hour ordeal could have ended in tragedy but officers were able to arrest the man without anyone being injured.
Orlando Police officers were able to take the man into custody once they saw that the suspect's gun was malfunctioning, according to the Police Department. They used tear gas and shot bean bags in their attempt to arrest him.
"We could have used lethal force ... but we took advantage of the situation knowing he had a malfunction with his gun and did what we had to do," said Orlando Police Deputy Robert Anzueto.
Anzueto said it all started about 7:50 a.m. when frightened residents of the Colonial Grand at Randal Lakes apartment complex called 911 about someone shooting from a car.
When officers responded, Anzueto said they "didn't know what this guy was capable of doing because there were witnesses on scene saying 'he's firing from the gun, he's firing from the car.'"
He said the man raised his handgun at officers. They called for backup and two SWAT vehicles barricaded him so he couldn't drive away.
But over the two hours, the man didn't cooperate or reply to officers who tried to speak with him over a loud speaker, Anzueto said.
Officers closed off the Colonial Grand and Randal Lakes apartment complex and told drivers to turn around. Law enforcement also blocked off a couple of streets as more than a dozen patrol cars and SWAT vehicles swarmed the area.
The man, who hasn't been identified, was taken into custody shortly before 10 a.m. and is facing a charge of aggravated assault with a firearm against a law enforcement officer. Anzueto said he could face additional charges.
