WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A West Palm Beach Police officer was released from the hospital, hours after he was struck by gunfire while responding to reports of a fight in a residential neighborhood.
Officers were dispatched to 300 block of Baker Drive, at around 2 a.m., Tuesday.
Responding units were met by gunfire, and an officer was struck in his bulletproof vest.
“Responding officers came under gunfire from an individual inside the home. The officers did return fire,” said West Palm Beach Police Chief Antonio Araujo.
Siblings Juanita and Zachary Lenair said they witnessed the officer going down near their home.
“He said, ‘Hey, I’m hit, I’m hit,” said Juanita. “Then he got up and immediately walked over there.”
The initial scene occurred a few houses down from the Lenairs, where a person who lives there said it’s made up of several apartments.
7News spoke to a nonverbal man who lives in one of the units. He was able to tell another resident that he wrestled a gun away from two men fighting. It appears he didn’t know there was another gun.
Witnesses described what unfolded.
“I’m shaking, I’m nervous, let me go! Call 911,” said a resident who didn’t want to show her face as she explained what occurred. “All of a sudden, the police officer said, ‘Put your hands up, put your hands up.’ Next thing, nothing. Gun. ‘Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.'”
“Whoever was next door from them down there started shooting at the police, and that’s when the police started firing back,” said Juanita.
“I just saw sparks; that’s all I saw,” said Zachary.
The siblings said the officer was transported to a local hospital in a police car. He was listed in stable condition before being released.
At least two dozen evidence markers lined the streets as crime scene investigators worked to gather evidence.
Neighbors said they were woken up by the gunfire.
“Boom, boom, boom. We didn’t know what it was, so we were really scared about that,” said neighbor Julienne Levy.
“I wondered, ‘Who’s beating my door down like that?’ And when I came out and didn’t see anyone, but then I opened the door and saw the people out there,” said neighbor Efna Fuller.
7Drone Force hovered above the scene as a car in the driveway was checked out by police. K-9 units were also deployed to assist in the search for any missed clues.
Juanita said the gun violence needs to stop.
“It’s so sad. I hope he’s doing well. This gun violence around here shouldn’t be happening,” she said.
On Tuesday afternoon, WPB Police released a photo of 22-year-old Emmanuel Keevon Dashawn McRae who, they said, is the man who shot the officer. He remains on the loose.
It’s unclear if McRae was a resident at the apartment complex where the fight and shooting occurred. Detectives consider him armed and dangerous.
The incident remains under investigation.
Officials urge anyone with information to contact the West Palm Beach Police Department at 561-822-1900.
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