Daytona Beach, FL - Two uniformed Daytona Beach police officers are on paid administrative after the two of them were involved in a shooting this morning.
New details say that the two officers, who remain unidentified by police, responded to the Wawa off of Ridgewood Avenue after emergency dispatchers received a call for help around 8:00 this morning (May 25th).
The call for help was placed by a woman who was almost carjacked by the suspect, who also remains unidentified at this moment. Police say that once she freed herself from the carjacking situation, she fled towards the gas station and called for help.
When the first officer arrived, he spotted a man on the north side of the Wawa parking lot on foot and armed with a rifle. Newly released body camera footage from the incident shows the officer giving the suspect the command to drop the weapon multiple times.
After numerous commands, the unidentified suspect reportedly aimed the rifle at the officer, which is when he opened fire on the suspect. As soon as the first shots were fire, a DBPD sergeant arrived on scene and drew his weapon and began to fire as well.
According to police, six shots were fired by officers. They are currently working to determine if the suspect fired at all.
The suspect was transported to Halifax Health Medical Center and underwent surgery following his arrival. As of this afternoon, he is out of surgery and is expected to recover, according to Daytona Beach Police Chief Craig Capri.
“I’m very proud of my officers, the way they acted today. They were very professional. They did their jobs,” Capri said to media at the scene. “It’s unfortunate that someone had to be shot in this incident, but we didn’t start this. The suspect escalated this incident. We tried to deescalate.”
Both officers are on paid administrative leave, pending an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The woman and the officers also remained uninjured throughout the ordeal.
