A man died after an officer-involved shooting in St. Cloud early Sunday, according to the police chief.
Officers responded around 2:44 a.m. to an alarm at Starling Chevrolet along E Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, where St. Cloud police Chief Douglas Goerke said the man was seen sitting in the passenger seat of a vehicle on the lot. According to a news release from the police department, the man had broken into the vehicle.
The man — whom Goerke described as in his 20s and from the Orlando area — then ran toward the back of a nearby Wawa after being told to show his hands, the chief said. Officers briefly lost sight of the man before finding him hiding in bushes, where police say he pulled a gun.
“Officers gave the suspect numerous commands to show his hands and cooperate, but the suspect did not comply. During the encounter, the suspect produced a firearm, and an officer-involved shooting occurred,” Goerke said during a news conference Sunday. “Once the scene was secure, officers immediately began life-saving measures, including applying a tourniquet and performing CPR. The suspect was transported to St. Cloud Hospital by the St. Cloud Fire Department, where he succumbed to his injuries.”
The man’s identity had not been released by the time of this report.
The two officers involved in the shooting were not said to be injured and are reportedly on paid administrative leave as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates. St. Cloud police are also coordinating with the State Attorney’s Office on the case, a release states.
Chief Goerke said that the gun recovered from the scene appears to have stovepiped, wherein a spent cartridge fails to eject and gets stuck.
News 6 spoke with Leslie Gray and Don Gray, St. Cloud residents at a nearby church.
“You pull a gun on an officer, you better be prepared to lose your life,” Leslie Gray said of the shooting. “It’s sad, but I’m glad that an officer didn’t die.
“I don’t envy anybody who has to sake someone’s life, you know? Even if it’s in the line of duty,” said Don Gray.
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Source: Clickorlando
