PLANT CITY, Fla. (WFLA) – A violent rampage through Plant City came to an end on Tuesday when an officer shot the suspect after he fired at law enforcement, Plant City police said.
According to police, it all started around 12:30 p.m. when a 911 call came in about a man who shot into a vehicle that he tried to flag down in Plant City. The person inside the car was not hurt and was able to drive away.
Shortly after the first incident, police said more 911 calls came in about similar incidents.
“Additional 911 calls were received stating that a black male matching a similar description attempted to stop two more vehicles and fired into one of those vehicles,” Sgt. Al VanDuyne said.
Police said the man tried to carjack at least four vehicles and shot one person inside a car.
Law enforcement officials were quickly able to track the suspect down to an area on James L. Redman Parkway. VanDuyne said, at some point, the suspect fired at law enforcement as they tried to take him into custody.
One of the Plant City officers who responded to the scene then fired back at the suspect.
“The Plant City officer, carrying a department-issued (gun,) fired at least one round at the suspect, striking him and neutralizing that subject, at this time ending his violent rampage,” VanDuyne said.
The suspect, whose name has not yet been released, was taken into custody and brought to a local hospital.
Plant City police said the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the state attorney’s office will all be involved in the investigation.
“There were three separate incidents where this shooter attempted to harm citizens just operating their vehicles along the roadway,” VanDuyne said. “It’s our paramount goal, our primary goal, to make sure that we keep the citizens in Plant City in unincorporated Hillsborough County safe and I’m glad the deputies and officers were able to get a quick resolution to this rampage that this gentleman decided to take us on.”
According to VanDuyne, investigators at this point believe the suspect was shooting at random.
“We don’t know what his motivation was at this time,” he said, adding that the investigation is extremely preliminary at this point.
Police did not have any information on the conditions of the victim who was shot, nor the suspect.
The officer that shot the man has been placed on administrative leave while the FDLE investigates the incident.
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