Man killed in Hudson deputy shooting on Little Road; FDLE to investigate

File photo: Pasco Sheriff vehicles photographed in April 2023. Agency context only; this is not the October 2, 2026 shooting scene. Photo: Ryan Watern. Photo source · CC-BY-SA-4.0.

A man was killed after an encounter with Pasco County sheriff's deputies at a shopping center on Little Road in Hudson on Friday, October 2. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will investigate the shooting, according to the sheriff's office.

The sheriff's office said deputies responded around noon after a business reported an agitated man outside and asked that he be removed from the property.

How the encounter unfolded, according to officials

The sheriff's office statement says deputies saw a knife in the man's hand, attempted to speak with him and shot him after he confronted them while holding it. That description is the agency's account; the investigation has not produced a final finding.

FOX 13's reporting from the news conference provides a more specific timeline. It attributes the following details to Col. Jeff Harrington and the sheriff's office:

• 12:28 p.m.: Deputies responded to a trespassing call involving a man reportedly screaming and making threats.
• 12:40 p.m.: Two deputies found him at the north end of the plaza, behind a gas station.
• During the encounter: Officials said a deputy told him six times to drop the knife. FOX 13 reported that deputies and emergency crews provided medical treatment afterward.

Identity reported; one detail remains inconsistent

A later WFLA report republished by AOL identifies the man as 49-year-old Brandon Whitworth, citing the sheriff's office. It places the shopping center in the 12100 block of Little Road.

The accounts differ on where he died. PSO's written statement says he was pronounced dead at the scene; WFLA's updated report says he died at a hospital. Both describe a fatal shooting. The material reviewed for this article does not resolve that discrepancy.

What happens next

PSO says the deputies who fired have been placed on paid administrative leave under agency policy, and that there is no continuing public safety threat from this incident.

The official alert links to a news conference and flags body-camera footage as sensitive. This article does not claim an independent reconstruction of that footage.

The key unanswered questions include the full sequence immediately before gunfire and the investigation's eventual conclusions. An initial law-enforcement statement describes the responding agency's position; it does not, by itself, establish whether the use of deadly force was lawful or appropriate.

Reporting note: Sources were checked October 3, 2026. This account draws on PSO's written alert, FOX 13's news-conference reporting and WFLA's updated report. It does not include an interview with witnesses or the man's family.