ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A woman told News4JAX she witnessed what she called the “crazy” scene of a deputy-involved shooting that left a man dead Tuesday evening in St. Johns County.
On Wednesday morning, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office will hold a news conference to provide more details about the man who was shot and killed by its deputies near International Golf Parkway. The sheriff’s office said the man was shot after he ran away while armed with a gun.
Stephanie Foss spoke with News4JAX on Wednesday, and said she saw first responders giving aid to the man.
“Mostly just how crazy it was. It was just very hectic and just shock. There’s a lot of shock. Over and over again I was saying ‘Oh my gosh, oh my gosh.’ Just surprised to see that many officers on scene so quickly. It went from five officers to 20-plus in a matter of two minutes,” Foss said.
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies were responding to a possible shooting call when they encountered a “fleeing suspect” heading south on US 1.
Deputies said they executed a PIT maneuver, which caused the man’s vehicle to crash on the roadway’s shoulder. According to deputies, the man then began fleeing the scene on foot while armed with a gun.
“Deputies gave commands for the suspect to drop the gun, and ultimately deployed lethal force,” the sheriff’s office said.
The man was taken to a local hospital, where he later died.
No deputies were injured in the shooting.
While stopped in traffic during the chaotic incident, Foss also recorded video of the scene on U.S. 1.
“Everybody was stopped, and there were maybe only five or six officers on scene to begin with. They had the gentleman out of the car on the ground. They were definitely working on him. All of the rest of the officers started flooding in pretty quickly. Not pretty quickly, very quickly,” Foss said.
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office added that, upon conducting its investigation, it learned that the man had confronted someone at a business and shot at them several times before the confrontation with deputies began.
The person who was shot at the business was not hurt.