Newly released video footage shows the moment a sheriff's sniper killed a suspect by shooting directly through a computer monitor.
The incident took place on February 6 when a 36-year-old man attempted to rob a Fort Myers Bank of America, as reported by CBS Austin.
Authorities noted that the suspect had taken two people hostage inside an office after police arrived on the scene.
According to officials, the robber told police that he had a bomb on him before using two hostages as a human shield.
A negotiator attempted to get the suspect to surrender, but instead, he put one of the hostages in a headlock before holding a knife to her throat, prompting officers to spring into action.
Footage from the scene released by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office showed SWAT officers in position outside the bank’s doors while a sniper steadied his rifle on the shoulder of another officer.
Watch the video below:With remarkable precision, the bullet was fired straight through a computer monitor and into the robber's head, killing him instantly.
“Shooting positions like these are trained regularly by snipers for time-critical incidents like these,” Lt. Todd Olmer of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office explained, per The New York Post.
“Due to the suspect’s limited exposure, the sniper took a planned and deliberate shot through a computer monitor, striking the suspect in the center of the forehead, killing him instantly,” he continued. “Firing through barriers is a trained and routinely practiced skill by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office special operations unit snipers."
“The .308-caliber bullet used is specifically selected due to its known ballistic reliability traveling through intermediate barriers," he added.
Sheriff Carmine Marceno spoke about the shocking events during a news conference and said: "When he presented deadly force like that, our SWAT sniper shot and killed the suspect. We were in fear for her life and her safety.
"Quickly we were face to face with a male suspect who was armed with a knife," Marceno said. "He also claimed he had a bomb."
"He had two hostages at this point, and we tried to negotiate with him continuously. Then the man inside the bank grabbed the woman and put the knife to her throat," they added.
The woman the man tried to use as a shield, one other hostage, and everyone else at the scene in the bank, escaped without injury, per Daily Mail.