CLERMONT, Fla. — Tenants of the Cottonwood Clermont apartment complex were allowed back into their homes after a more than four-hour standoff between a gunman and law enforcement personnel that left a woman and gunman dead.

The Clermont Police Department say it started on Wednesday afternoon when they got a call from a passerby about a woman screaming for help while being chased by an adult male in his late 20.

When officers arrived on the scene, they could not locate the victim.

A bloody trail eventually led police to an apartment where they found a woman who had been shot to death.

Soon after finding the victim, officers were met with gunfire by the suspect.

What You Need To Know

  • 2 dead after a shooting and standoff at Cottonwood Clermont apartment complex

  • A woman was shot to death in her apartment after being chased by a man Wednesday afternoon

  • Officers engaged in a standoff with a male suspect who initially fired at them, after discovering the woman’s body

  • Once it deemed safe to enter the building where the suspect sought shelter, police found the man with a self-inflicted gunshot wound

“They were immediately met with gunfire by an adult suspect at the top of the stairs,” says Clermont Police Captain Malcolm Draper.

When officers fired back, they say the suspect ran into the apartment building located on Hooks Street during which time additional law enforcement personnel came to assist at the scene.

Among those helping were the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, the Groveland Police Department and the Mid-Florida SWAT team.

Draper says, “we held our position, we used different types of intel gathering technology such as drones to gather information.”

Officers also quickly evacuated nearby buildings and asked other tenants to shelter in place, like one resident named Ashton who was at home at the time that the gunshots were fired.

“There’s about 60 cops, there’s helicopters, there’s drones its crazy,” says Cottonwood Clermont resident Ashton.

Ashton moved to Cottonwood from Utah less than a year ago and he says he never expected to experience something like this.

“I would never think that something like this would happen in my neighborhood, and I know a lot of people say that but for it to be happening just a building over, it’s scary and it keeps you on your toes,” he says.

After several hours and with the help of surrounding law enforcement agencies, police determined it was safe for them to enter the building.

Once inside they say they found the suspect with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

No officers were injured during the shootout, but the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has already been contacted since an officer fired a weapon during the standoff.

An investigation is currently underway as well.

Draper says police believe the man and woman were romantically involved and shared an apartment together at Cottonwood.