FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Authorities are investigating a police-involved shooting that happened early Sunday morning in Broward County.
According to Fort Lauderdale police, it happened in the area of Northwest 6th Avenue and 12th Street, just north of Sunrise Boulevard.
Officers said they received a Shotspotter alert at approximately 8:30 a.m. Sunday and as they responded, the call was updated to a possible domestic incident in which a subject fired a gun at a family member.
(Local 10 News Morning Report)
As officers arrived, they were met by gunfire from a Black male, police said.
“As a patrol officer rounded the corner, he immediately was encountered with gunfire,” according to Fort Lauderdale Police Interim Assistant Chief Frank Sousa.
There was an exchange of gunfire between officers and the suspect. Witnesses said they saw the man running down the street.
He was hit in the abdomen by gunfire near a home, just a few doors down from where the incident began.
“When we were administering medical aid, we recovered ammunition from the subject that was laying on the ground and we have recovered a firearm,” Sousa said.
Neighbors told Local 10 News that the same suspect first appeared to violently spiral out of control just a few days ago, when they heard glass shattering around 6 a.m.
One man said that the suspect broke windows on the block and showed us the rocks used to smash the glass.
Authorities said only one officer fired their weapon and no police were injured.
The suspect was taken to Broward Health Medical Center, where he spent part of the day in surgery. He is reportedly in critical condition.
“It’s not a decision an officer takes lightly, but when you encounter with gunfire coming at you, you have no choice at times,” Sousa said.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating, which is routine in police involved shootings.