Deputy in critical condition after being shot outside Jacksonville hospital
MIAMI - A sheriff's deputy is in critical condition after being shot in the parking lot of Baptist Medical Center in Jacksonville on Tuesday night.
It began when an off-duty deputy spotted a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot. He attempted to stop the car, but the driver drove off. He alerted the department and was informed not to pursue the vehicle. Other deputies in the area heard what was going on and went to the hospital to look for the vehicle.
"One of the officers was outside of his car, saw the vehicle approach in the same lane he was in, raised his hand, and said 'stop the car, stop the car'. The subject in the car rolled the window down slightly, held out a gun, or what looked like a gun, and said 'shoot me'. That officer did not shoot him. That vehicle continued forward, pulled up next to the police car, and fired one shot into the police car," said Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters.
The officer did not return fire. Other deputies arrived and attempted to stop the subject's car.
Waters said at one point, the subject got behind the same officer's car that he fired at and rammed it. He then rammed a second officer's car and then slammed into a pole.
Deputies surrounded the subject's car with their vehicles. When a deputy approached it from the rear, the subject fired a shot through the window, striking the officer in the face.
"The officers at that point returned fire, striking the subject several times, killing him," said Waters.
The sheriff said this was the fifth time an officer was involved in a shooting this year and the third time this year an officer has been shot.
The hospital was placed on lockdown during the incident, it has since been lifted.
