COOPER CITY, FLA. (WSVN) - A Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy shot and killed a man who had injured himself in a Cooper City parking lot after the man went on the attack, authorities said.
Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies and Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue units responded to a call reporting a man had shot himself in the parking lot of a McDonald’s near Griffin Road and North Palm Avenue, early Saturday afternoon.
Employees at the McDonald’s said the injured man was outside with his mother in their vehicle. His mother was asking him to calm down.
Things took a violent turn once the deputy arrived. After locating the man, investigators said, the deputy approached the man in an attempt to help him.
The man then attacked the deputy, detectives said, forcing the deputy to discharge his weapon, striking the man.
“Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue personnel immediately began lifesaving measures. However, the man was pronounced deceased on scene,” said BSO spokesperson Claudinne Caro.
“My heart’s beating fast right now, so I’m kinda like lost right now,” said McDonald’s employee Quinton Elliott. “This is my first time seeing something like this.”
Alison Lake, who works near the McDonald’s, said she saw a deputy prior to the shooting.
“I saw a cop get out of an undercover car, like, run across the parking lot, drew his gun. I didn’t realize really what was going on,” she said. “I didn’t hear the shots at the time. I think that was kind of like after what happened.”
7News cameras captured the injured deputy on a stretcher as paramedics took him to an ambulance.
“Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue and Davie Fire Rescue transported a deputy and the man’s mother to a local hospital for treatment. Neither of them received gunfire injuries,” said Caro.
7News cameras captured the parking lot cordoned off with crime scene tape, as well as markers placed on the ground and a body bag in the center of the lot.
Detectives appeared to focus their investigation around a dark colored truck as they combed the area and searched for clues.
Elliott, who has worked at this McDonald’s for 14 years, said he no longer feels safe.
“You never know when it might happen again and later on down the line, so I just want to make sure, you know, this don’t happen no more,” said Elliott.
How the deputy was attacked is still being investigated.
Sundat afternoon, 7News cameras captured the McDonald’s running smoothly once again.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting. Authorities urge anyone with information to please come forward.
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