ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A scary moment tonight for residents in St. Augustine when they heard gunfire off a busy highway.
Deputies shot and killed a man on Old Moultrie Road at US-1 South, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office announced on social media.
Around 5:10 p.m. on Friday, a concerned family member contacted the SJSO about the man. Officials said the family member told them the man “had been drinking alcohol, was making suicidal remarks and left his residence with a firearm.”
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Deputies located his vehicle and tried to do a welfare check.
According to deputies, he was armed and uncooperative. The man then began to ram one of the patrol vehicles.
”He was not cooperating, and yea, he made a choice,” a witness told Action News Jax.
That’s when four deputies fired their guns.
Life-saving efforts were made, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Dennis Swanner lives right across the street and said he was shocked to see all this police activity.
“In St. Augustine, it’s a little bit of shock,” Swanner said. “But I’m from Jacksonville, so I’m kind of used to it. I moved here three weeks ago, to get away from all of this.”
Action News Jax Annette Gutierrez spoke with the suspect’s neighbor who said he was surprised and sad to hear about this. He said he saw his neighbor’s truck on TV with his business logo and knew it was him.
Officials said the next of kin has been notified.
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SJSO said no other deputies or bystanders were hurt.
This is an ongoing investigation, and no further information is going to be released at this time.
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Watch FOX30 at 10 for a live report and to hear from witnesses and the man’s neighbor.
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