A decorated U.S. Army combat veteran is dead, his family devastated, and serious questions remain unanswered after a police shooting in Brandon, Florida that has rattled both the local community and fellow service members nationwide.
Vincent Tyler Morin, 34, was gunned down by deputies with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) on the morning of April 23, after multiple 911 calls reported a man in full tactical gear carrying a rifle near Providence Road. According to HCSO, Morin ignored repeated commands to drop the weapon. Moments later, three deputies opened fire.
He was taken to a hospital, but it was too late. In the edited bodycam footage released by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, a first responder asks where Morin was hit, and a deputy replies grimly: “Everywhere.”
‘He thought he was on patrol’
To the untrained eye, Morin’s appearance that morning likely looked threatening: combat fatigues, a tactical vest with extra magazines, and a communications headset—all paired with a rifle slung at the ready. But to his family, it looked like something else entirely.
In their eyes, Vince wasn’t on a mission—he was lost in a memory, according to what they told the Tampa Bay Times.
“He was patrolling the perimeter,” said his mother, Deanna Tendrup, who believes her son was in a PTSD-induced mental episode. “He thought he was back in Afghanistan.”
Morin’s military service was no small footnote. He enlisted in 2009, serving as an infantryman through multiple combat deployments to both Afghanistan and Iraq. A traumatic brain injury from an IED strike in 2011 marked the beginning of a long, invisible war that followed him home. Despite his injuries, he returned to active duty in 2014, rising to the rank of Staff Sergeant before being medically discharged in 2020 after being struck by a pickup truck in a freak accident stateside.
“He was a lifer,” said his ex-wife Katherine Morin, who was married to Vince for over a decade. “If it wasn’t for that accident, he’d still be in uniform.”
Instead, Vince found himself navigating a chaotic civilian world that didn’t come with an op order or battle buddy. Katherine remembers him waking up early, putting on his uniform, and preparing for a day that no longer existed. He’d served his country honorably, but the battlefield had followed him home.
A life unraveling
Vince Morin tried to make things work. He moved to Florida with his girlfriend, Sydney Johnson, and their infant son. He picked up trash around the neighborhood. He kept watch over his apartment complex like he was still part of a foot patrol.
Johnson said she never saw him leave the house dressed in tactical gear, let alone armed.
On the morning of the shooting, she left the house with their baby. When she called Morin to check in, his response was incoherent. She rushed home. Moments later, she found out someone had been shot nearby.
She feared the worst—and she was right.
The shooting
According to HCSO, deputies responded to reports of an armed man at 7:24 a.m. Body camera footage released April 23 shows one deputy arriving at 7:38 a.m., just seconds before the gunfire erupted. The footage shows deputies shouting at Morin to drop the weapon. He does not appear to raise the rifle. Within ten seconds, three deputies opened fire.
Aerial footage shows Morin being shot and dropping the rifle, only for his body to convulse as more bullets hit. When deputies approached, his rifle lay several feet away.
Sheriff Chad Chronister called it a justified use of deadly force, stating that Morin “posed a real and immediate threat.” Chief Deputy Joseph Maurer doubled down, saying, “You don’t dress in tactical gear with a fully loaded rifle and body armor unless you mean to make a statement—or worse.”
But the Morin family says that’s exactly the point: He wasn’t trying to hurt anyone. He didn’t even know he was here.
“They didn’t even try to investigate,” said Katherine Morin. “They just made assumptions.”
A familiar tragedy
The story is tragically familiar to those in the veteran community: a soldier survives war, only to fall through the cracks once he returns home.
“They were supposed to de-escalate,” said his mother. “Instead, they killed my son.”
Veterans who served with Vince are also speaking out.
“He cared about his soldiers more than anyone I ever met,” said one former platoon mate. “He didn’t deserve this.”
Another friend who served with Morin in Iraq said the Vince he knew wouldn’t have hurt anyone unless it was to protect someone else.
“I think he got caught in a flashback,” he said. “It happens more than civilians realize.”
What now?
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is investigating the shooting. The three deputies involved—Lt. William Gergel, Deputy Matthew Fluck, and Deputy Courtney Baldwin—have been placed on paid administrative leave.
A previous welfare check in February, following a bizarre Ring doorbell interaction, ended without action after Morin didn’t meet the threshold for involuntary commitment under Florida’s Baker Act.
In the meantime, Sydney Johnson is left to raise their infant son without the man she describes as a loving and attentive father.
She says she will never forget the moment—just after the shooting, while still unaware Vince was gone—when her baby said “Da-Da” for the first time.
“That was Vince telling us goodbye,” she said.
A GoFundMe has been launched to assist with funeral expenses and care for the child. Katherine Morin is also working with the VA to cover remaining costs.
If you or a veteran you know is in crisis:
Call or text 988, then press 1 to be connected to the Veterans Crisis Line.
Help is 24/7, free, and confidential.
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