A 54-year-old man with a criminal history was fatally shot by law enforcement after a pursuit and standoff in Palm Beach County.
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. —
A suspect was fatally shot by a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy Tuesday afternoon on Jog Road in western Boynton Beach following a police chase and standoff.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the incident actually began Monday night when the suspect allegedly ordered a pizza to an address in Lake Worth.
“When the guy got there, he says to the pizza guy, ‘I only got a hundred. Do you have change?’ Guy took out the change. That’s when he grabbed him, and they wrestled for the money and took it away from him,” Bradshaw said.
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Investigators said the suspect fled the scene in a black pickup truck, which deputies spotted in Lake Park around 11 a.m. Tuesday. The suspect fled again, leading police on a chase down I-95 South until he crashed on Jog Road. A Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office helicopter followed the pursuit.
“As soon as he gets out of the vehicle, he’s got something wrapped around his right hand, looks like a shirt or a cloth, and the people in the helicopter say, ‘Looks like he’s got a firearm, looks like he’s got a gun,’” Bradshaw said.
Michael Tanner
A 54-year-old man with a criminal history was fatally shot by law enforcement after a pursuit and standoff in Palm Beach County.
Deputies attempted to subdue the suspect multiple times using what they described as less-than-lethal weapons, but the efforts were unsuccessful.
“During this whole time, he’s yelling too at the officers, ‘You’re going to have to kill me, you’re going to have to kill me, you’re going to have to kill me,’” Bradshaw said.
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The sheriff said the suspect then ducked behind a concrete pole and forced deputies to shoot him.
“He was actually in a kneeling position and raised up his hands in the shooting position, and that’s when our deputy fired,” Bradshaw said.
The suspect was killed in the incident.
Authorities later determined that he did not have a weapon.
“The deputies did everything they could to take this guy into custody with less-than-lethal force, but he decided he’s going to go the hard way,” Bradshaw said.
Investigators have not yet released the identity of the suspect.
They have only said he’s a 54-year-old man with a lengthy criminal record.
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