Overview
- Law enforcement issued an AMBER Alert after a 13-year-old girl was reported taken from her Ocala home and the alert was canceled once she was found safe.
- A license-plate reader flagged a red SUV and a citizen who saw the AMBER Alert followed the vehicle, helping deputies locate it on U.S. Highway 441.
- Deputies used a Precision Immobilization Technique, or PIT maneuver, to stop the SUV and released video that appears to show the driver pointing a gun at officers.
- Sheriff Billy Woods said eight Marion County deputies and one Belleview officer fired on 45-year-old Jason Castillo; he was taken to a hospital and later died.
- The scene is under active review with investigators processing evidence and limiting public releases of footage, and the case raises questions about police use-of-force and the role of license-plate readers in recoveries.