Timotheus Gersom Reed, a 38-year-old Black male from Leesburg, Florida, died on April 12, 2026, after he was shot by a Lake County sheriff’s deputy during a law-enforcement response to a reported stabbing. The incident began shortly after 6 a.m. in the area of 2415 Montclair Road in Leesburg, where Lake County sheriff’s deputies and Leesburg police officers were sent after a 911 caller reported that someone had been stabbed multiple times, including in the neck.
When deputies
arrived, bystanders reportedly pointed officers in the direction where the alleged stabbing suspect had fled on foot. Authorities later identified that person as Reed. A deputy found him a short distance away, and during that encounter, the deputy shot him. Reed was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Investigators later said a knife was recovered near the area where the deputy encountered him.
The most disputed part of the case is what happened in the moments before the gunshot. The sheriff’s office said the deputy’s body-worn camera was not activated when the shooting occurred because the deputy had not turned on the vehicle’s blue lights while responding nearby. The released body-camera footage reportedly showed only the aftermath, with first responders treating Reed on the ground, but not the actual shooting itself. An autopsy found that Reed suffered a single gunshot wound to the left side of his abdomen.
Reed’s family and friends publicly questioned the official account and called for more transparency. A family friend said Reed had come to his home asking for help shortly before the shooting and said he had not known Reed to be violent in that way. At a vigil held days later, loved ones mourned him and demanded answers, saying the body-camera gap left too many questions about whether deadly force was necessary. One relative also disputed parts of the stabbing narrative, saying he was present and challenging claims about what happened before police arrived.
No arrest has been reported in connection with Reed’s death. The deputy who fired the shot was not publicly identified in the available reports and was placed on administrative leave while the incident was reviewed. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement took over the investigation into the deputy-involved shooting, which is standard procedure in such cases. As of the available reporting, no charges, trial proceedings, or convictions had been announced against the deputy or anyone else in connection with Reed’s fatal shooting.
Authorities described Reed as the suspect in the stabbing call that brought law enforcement to Montclair Road, but the reported stabbing victim was not publicly identified in the available sources. Reed died before any arrest could be made in that incident, and the public record available so far centers on the deputy’s use of force, the missing body-camera footage of the shooting itself, the recovered knife, and the continuing demand from Reed’s family for accountability and a fuller explanation of his final moments.
