A 23-year-old man ran away from a mental health clinic in Florida on Sunday. When police found him with pepper spray and a knife, they shot him seriously, according to the police.
It wasn’t clear right away what the man’s name was, but family members took him to The Vines Hospital to be admitted just before 12:30 p.m., but the Ocala Police Department said he started “acting erratic” and ran out of the clinic.
After 10 minutes, police found the man near the 5500 block of SW 27th Avenue.
Upon approaching the 23-year-old, officers found him to be “an immediate threat,” which led them to use deadly force and shoot him, according to the department.
After the fact, police said the man had pepper spray and a knife on him when they encountered him.
WESH-TV reported that Preston Bare saw the man and police officer fight while he was on his way home.
“The cop was holding the gun, and another cop was holding the Taser on him, and he was patting on his chest, pleading with the man to please drop whatever he had in his hands,” Bare said. “Then he got tased, and he started to immediately run toward the cop that had his gun drawn on him, spraying him while he’s running with the knife in his hand, and then he got shot.”
The man was taken to a nearby hospital right away and had surgery. Police said he is in very bad shape and will need more medical treatments soon.
During the event, no cops were hurt.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is helping with the probe, as they always do.
