Plant City police officers were able to do more than just save two children from a residential fire off Maryland Avenue this morning.
Officer James Burchett arrived at the scene of a house fire early Tuesday morning and shot and killed Trung Thanh Do, 31, who was stabbing Maria De Los Angeles Romano, 43, inside the home.
At about 4 a.m., the Plant City Police Department received a 911 call referencing a residential structure fire at 107 Maryland Ave. S, across the street from Marshall Middle School. Details from the caller indicated that four people were inside of the home.
Upon police arrival, the car port and a portion of the home were ablaze. Entry was made into the residence by police through the front door. Once inside, two females – an 18-year-old woman and 13-year-old girl – were found and taken to safety. They told officers that Romano was being assaulted by Do inside a locked bedroom.
Burchett went outside and walked around the home to the bedroom window, where he observed Do stabbing Romano. Burchett gave repeated commands for Do to stop. Those commands were ignored, and Burchett fired a single shot that killed Do, Chief Ed Duncan said.
Romano was in stable condition at a local hospital with stab wounds. The teenage girl and 18-year-old woman were uninjured.
Joining the Plant City officers at the scene were agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Burchett is a five-year veteran of the department. He served for seven years previously with the Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office, located in Chatham, Virginia. Pursuant to departmental policy, Officer Burchett has been placed on administrative leave, while the FDLE investigation is conducted.
The fire was put out, police spokesman Sergeant Al Van Duyne said. There was damage to the house. The State Fire Marshall has responded to the scene and will be conducting an Arson investigation. At this time, the fire is believed to have been set by Do.
This is an active investigation and more information will be released as it becomes available.