The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office released a day-by-day account of incidents involving a 29-year-old Crestview man in the days before a fatal standoff with deputies, along with details about a weapons cache and homemade explosives recovered from his home.

• Sheriff Eric Aden presented the timeline and evidence during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, saying he believes deputies averted a potential attack on a school by acting when they did.

“I’m further convinced based on what we know now, that if we had not taken action, there would have been significant loss of life at Richbourg or another school,” Aden said.

Antonio Austin Haner was killed on Aug. 8 after he opened fire on deputies who arrived at his residence at 607 Alabama Street to serve a search warrant, arrest warrant and risk protection order, according to the sheriff’s office. The home sits directly across a two-lane road from the school. No deputies, officers or community members were injured.

“This was not an average arrest or search warrant,” Aden said. “I’m convinced a normal response from law enforcement would have resulted in significant loss of life, not just for our folks, but likely innocent citizens.”

The search of Haner’s home turned up three rifles, two shotguns, a pistol, body armor, two gas masks, preloaded expanded-capacity magazines, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and homemade explosive devices. Aden said the explosives were active.

• “Those are not wicks you light. Those you pull, and they go off like a hand grenade or any type of pipe bomb,” Aden said. Bay County’s bomb disposal team responded to handle the devices.

Aden said Haner could have used the explosives to booby-trap the house but did not.

“I do believe that there was a school at threat, whether it was Richbourg or another school,” Aden said. “I do believe this guy had the means and the mental capacity to carry that threat out.”

The timeline

The timeline Aden presented followed four days of escalating behavior before deputies were able to serve warrants.

The first documented incident occurred on Aug. 4, when an OCSO sergeant was conducting a routine vehicle inspection on a school resource officer’s vehicle at the Richbourg School bus ramp.

• Haner reportedly walked to his fence armed with a long gun and began yelling about an “interstate conspiracy,” according to the timeline. The sergeant told Haner the case had been dismissed, and Haner apologized saying “I retract my statement.”

Later that afternoon, Crestview Police received a call at 3:39 p.m. from Richbourg School personnel reporting a shot fired from the area of Haner’s residence. Officers made contact with Haner through a Ring camera, and he was talking about a conspiracy, according to the timeline.

On Aug. 5, OCSO distributed an Officer Safety Bulletin for Haner. Between 12:35 and 12:50 p.m., a teacher leaving Richbourg School heard a man yelling and cursing in the backyard of 607 Alabama St. and saw a man matching Haner’s description pacing back and forth. As the teacher walked toward her car, she heard a gunshot and turned back toward the school, fearing he was shooting in her direction.

• The teacher then saw a man matching Haner’s description pacing under a shed in the yard while holding a long gun with the barrel facing up. She notified school administration and the school resource officer, who contacted Crestview Police. A resident on nearby Georgia Street told an officer he heard approximately two shots about 10 minutes apart.

On Aug. 6, OCSO’s Criminal Investigations Division contacted a Crestview Police sergeant about pursuing a risk protection order. The CPD sergeant had no knowledge of the prior incidents and said the department was not seeking one, according to the timeline. OCSO investigators began gathering information for an RPO and a criminal investigation.

By Aug. 7, investigators had obtained a risk protection order, a residential search warrant and an arrest warrant, all signed by a judge. OCSO’s Special Response Team was consulted and determined the warrants required an SRT operation based on what was known about Haner’s weapons and mental state, according to Aden.

Aden said the warrants were deliberately served early Saturday morning because of the proximity to the school, the upcoming start of the school year and because early morning hours meant minimal pedestrian and vehicle traffic. Teachers were scheduled to return Aug. 10 and students Aug. 11.

The standoff began at 5:20 a.m. on Aug. 8. Deputies arrived with two armored vehicles positioned at the front and rear of the home, along with an armored Rook, a piece of heavy equipment similar to a skid steer, provided by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.

• Deputies began with phone calls to both Haner and his spouse, followed by lights, sirens and public address announcements commanding surrender. There was no response, though movement and lights were observed inside the home, according to Aden.

At 5:25 a.m., deputies deployed flashbang devices. A man and woman came to the door about a minute later. Haner’s spouse exited without incident and was moved away from the residence. Haner shut the door and retreated inside.

His spouse told deputies Haner had several high-powered rifles, a ballistic vest and ammunition, according to Aden.

After a second set of flashbangs at 5:29 a.m. and continued announcements, Haner opened fire at 5:32 a.m., shooting out the rear of the house toward deputies in an armored vehicle. A shotgun round was later found in a window of the school behind the vehicle.

At 5:34 a.m., Haner answered a call from the crisis negotiation unit and said it was “time to die,” made several statements about a conspiracy and hung up. He then broke out a back window, moved to a front window and fired at officers in another armored vehicle.

At 5:39 a.m., Haner answered the phone again and continued talking about conspiracies. He then fired on both an armored vehicle and the Rook in the front yard using shotgun and rifle rounds.

• Deputies used the Rook to create an opening in the residence for visibility. Haner was seen inside the home firing at the Rook and the operator. He then exited through the opening and continued firing a rifle at the armored vehicles.

At 5:42 a.m., deputies used an armored vehicle to strike Haner and pin him against the house. He continued to fire even after being pinned, according to Aden.

No deputies fired a single round during the encounter.

Haner was taken into custody at 5:53 a.m. and deputies began lifesaving measures. He was transported by EMS, where he died from his injuries, according to Aden.

Aden said Haner had also placed signs facing the school referencing an “interstate conspiracy.” His spouse’s testimony after the standoff corroborated the concern, Aden said, adding that she told investigators Haner believed the government was telling him to shoot up a school.

A home two blocks away and the school were both struck by gunfire during the standoff. The armored vehicles sustained extensive damage, with approximately 38 rounds reported hitting the vehicles, according to the sheriff’s office.

“When a suspect opens fire on one of my deputies, they should expect a decisive and overwhelming response,” Aden said.

Aden acknowledged Haner’s family was not involved in his actions.

“This man had a family, too. They were not complicit in his actions,” Aden said.

Okaloosa County School District Superintendent Marcus Chambers, who appeared alongside Aden at the press conference with School Safety Specialist Danny Dean, said the district would notify families at the two schools on the Richbourg campus following the briefing.

• “I’m just grateful for Richbourg School, the staff who communicated with our SRO and the sheriff’s department,” Chambers said. “So we are blessed to have a sheriff and a sheriff’s department that communicates with us well, and this is what happens when that occurs.”

Chambers said the school resource officer program is the district’s top layer of safety and said he appreciated the urgency with which the situation was handled before students returned.

“Our number one safety is for our students and for our staff,” Chambers said.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is conducting an independent investigation into the incident at OCSO’s request.