SUWANNEE COUNTY, Fla. — A multi-county manhunt in Northeast Florida ended Friday morning with the suspect dead, authorities say.
It started as a shooting in Gadsden County, where two people died. The suspect’s car was then found crashed in Suwannee County on Howard Street.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
According to the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Highway Patrol chased the suspect in a vehicle pursuit that ended in a crash in Suwannee County.
Deputies from Suwannee and Columbia counties were also involved in the chase. After the crash at US 90 West near Goldkist Blvd / Wayne Friers sales lot, the suspect exited his car and fired on the officers, striking a Suwannee County deputy.
“The deputy’s body armor minimized the impact of the shot, which resulted in non-life threatening injuries to the deputy,” a Gadsden Sheriff’s Office news release states.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
The suspect was then killed during a gunfight with SWAT in Live Oak.
Multiple law enforcement agencies were involved in the manhunt for the killer including FHP, Columbia, Gadsden and Suwannee sheriff’s offices and Lake City and Live Oak police departments.
“He shot a deputy. He’s a very dangerous person and a desperate person,” Columbia County Sheriff’s Sgt. Steven Khachigan told Action News Jax Friday morning.
Read: Motorcyclist strikes concrete pole, dies in Jacksonville crash
Read: ‘It’s like a wasteland’: Regency Square Mall racks up $1.8 million fines, city pushes for sale
Read: Nearly 14-foot-long white shark found swimming off Jacksonville’s Coast
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Sign Up
