BROOKSVILLE, Fla. - Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis provided new details about a February active shooter situation that left a victim and the suspect dead and another person injured. One question Nienhuis said remains unanswered: why Steve Roosa, 64, allegedly set a barn on fire and then shot at four people.

​“It’s obvious that this individual was out of touch with reality, so I don’t know if we’ll ever know completely, but I got some information today that there may have been some money issues,” said Nienhuis.

Nienhuis said the first of at least nine 911 calls came in just before 5 p.m. on February 17.

“He’s crazy. He lit the barn on fire,” a woman can be heard saying in a recording of that call provided by the sheriff’s office.

Nienhuis said that the original caller later told investigators she arrived at Roosa’s house to find he’d set the fire and shot his pet parakeet. The sheriff said he shot at the caller as she fled in a vehicle, then fired at a neighbor who came to help after seeing the fire.

“My husband went up to help, and they shot him,” said a woman in a recording of another 911 call.

“They shot your husband?” the dispatcher asked.       

“Yes. He’s flat on the ground. I tried to go help him, and they shot me in the leg,” the woman said.

“At that point, we realize this individual is capable of anything,” Nienhuis said.

According to Nienhuis, tear gas was fired into the home around 8:16 p.m. after Roosa failed to respond to an hour of attempted negotiations. The sheriff said when Roosa came out around 8:22 p.m. he pointed a gun at SWAT team members, who fatally shot him. Inside the home, investigators found 70 rounds of spent and live ammunition and 12 firearms.               

“It appears he was staging these in different areas of the house. He was certainly ready for a fight,” Nienhuis said.

Nienhuis said Roosa was a veteran who had little, if any, previous run-ins with law enforcement.

He said the money issues that may have set him off possibly involved the IRS. The sheriff said the original 911 caller told investigators Roosa had been depressed for a while. Nienhuis also noted Roosa had no argument with any of the people he shot at. Which is one detail he said makes this case so unusual.

Sheriff Nienhuis said he expected a briefing from FDLE on their investigation into the shooting involving an officer within the week. He said his office’s investigation into the case is ongoing.