Florida deputies shot a kidnapping suspect in the head in an attempt to free a therapist taken hostage and repeatedly raped during a harrowing, 15-hour ordeal, authorities said.
The 20-year-old suspect, identified as Tzvi Allswang, suffered a serious injury, but survived and was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on Wednesday, according to the sheriff’s office.
Around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, deputies responded to Allswang’s home in Boca Raton after getting a call from the victim’s partner, asking them to perform a welfare check.
A probable cause affidavit obtained by the New York Post stated that the caller told deputies that her partner had failed to return home from her client’s house after their therapy session.
Deputies soon showed up at the residence and forced their way inside after hearing a woman screaming for help. Upon reaching the master bedroom, the responding officers found Allswang standing inside a closet and holding a knife to a woman’s throat, authorities said.
After Allswang refused repeated commands to drop the knife, Sgt. William Nogueras shot him once in the head, enabling the hostage to break free.
The victim was transported to a hospital in a stable condition and was treated for injuries to her head and body from allegedly being beaten and raped by Allswang.
During an emotional interview with detectives, the victim said that she had gone to Allswang’s home to conduct a therapy session last Friday evening. The therapist said she was aware that Allswang had a sexual battery charge as a juvenile.
When the woman wanted to leave at the end of their meeting, Allswang grabbed her around the chest in a “bear hug” and told her she could not leave, the victim said. He then took away the woman’s phone and bound her hands behind her back with duct tape, according to the affidavit.
“During the course of the night she pleaded numerous times for him to let her go and he said that he was not going to let her go,” the court document stated.
Allswang allegedly pummeled the victim all over her body with his hands and knees, bit her nipple and raped her “multiple times,” including with a vibrating massager, which the victim said, “really hurt her.”
The woman told detectives that on several occasions during her captivity, she thought Allswang was going to kill her.
When deputies finally responded to the house, the woman said, Allswang placed a large kitchen knife against her throat and warned her to be quiet “or he would cut her throat,” according to the filing.
Allswang faces a half-dozen felony charges, including attempted murder with a weapon, four counts of sexual battery with force, and kidnapping. His graphic booking photo shows him with severe swelling to his bandaged head and bruising on his right eye.
Allswang made his initial court appearance on Thursday and was ordered held without bond. He is expected to be back before a judge on Aug. 8.
The deputy who shot Allswang has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation.
