FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A man has been found dead and another had to be hospitalized after a shooting in Fort Lauderdale that led to an hours long standoff with police.
Fort Lauderdale Police and Fire Rescue units initially responded to a home in the area of Northeast 57th Street and 27th Avenue just after 9 a.m., Thursday to reports of shots fired.
SWAT Team members later arrived after first responders believed a man might have barricaded himself in the home following the shooting.
However, when SWAT eventually entered the home at around 4 p.m., they found the man deceased inside. Police have not said how the man inside the home died.
Ann Flor, who lives nearby, said the homeowner is a retired police officer who shot his adoptive son.
“My neighbor down the street, who is a retired New York cop, shot his adoptive son this morning,” Flor said. “What I’m also worried about is the dogs. He’s got two beautiful German Shepherds that nobody’s heard bark lately.”
7News cameras captured armored vehicles and officers with long guns near the home.
Artis Rucker said he was at a nearby home fixing a pool when shots rang out in the neighborhood.
He said he saw a man in his mid-20s covered in blood come out of a home and knocking on a neighbor’s door before collapsing.
“At one point, I literally thought he was going to die,” Rucker said. “I walked up, and I saw the guy full of blood. He was literally covered in blood.”
He was initially not sure if the man had been shot or stabbed but tended to a wound on the left side of his head until paramedics arrived.
“Once I found out where the wound was at, which was on his left side of his head behind his ear, and so what I did is I took a towel, and I applied pressure there,” Rucker said, “but he drifting in and out of unconsciousness, so we tried to keep him alert. Sometimes when his eyes went into the back of his head, like if he was going unconscious.”
Paramedics then arrived on the scene and took over from Rucker.
“At that time, our SWAT Team responded,” Fort Lauderdale Police spokesperson Casey Liening said. “Multiple call out efforts were made, and those were unsuccessful. We eventually made entry into the residence, where we found that individual deceased inside of the residence.”
Rescue crews transported the man to Broward Health Medical Center in critical condition.
“I’m just hoping the young man is OK because he lost a lot of blood,” Rucker said.
Police said the victim called the man inside of the home “Dad,” but police have not confirmed if the two are father and son.
“Neighbors are texting each other, including me, about what’s happening,” one woman said near the scene. “It’s a hostage situation. He shot his son, and he’s in the house, so I guess they’re trying to get him out.”
Neighbors added that the man who was found dead inside the home suffered from depression in the last few months and the adopted son was living with him to help him through that. However, police have not confirmed that information.
Flor said she has the young the victim on her mind.
“He’s very sweet,” Flor said. “He’s a nice guy, so it’s really sad. I think he was probably there to try to help them out, and I just pray that he survives.”
It remains unclear what happened inside of the home, as police detectives continue their investigation.
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