HOLLYWOOD, FLA. (WSVN) - A man has been taken to the hospital after an officer-involved shooting in Hollywood.
The shooting took place near the Hollywood Broadwalk along Scott Street, late Monday night.
Hollywood Police officers said they responded to the scene after receiving a report about a suspicious person at around 10:45 p.m.
The 911 caller reported there was a man walking around naked on Surf Road.
Responding officers said when they arrived on scene, they located the naked man armed with a gun.
The department said officers tried to de-escalate the situation but, “the individual’s actions necessitated the use of force response by police, resulting in a police-involved shooting.”
“It sounded like a pack of 20 firecrackers going off,” said a resident.
In a cellphone video captured by a resident in the area, a person could be heard moaning in pain while officers shine their flashlights.
The man was taken to the hospital in unknown condition.
7News cameras captured a white sedan which appears to be the focus of the investigation.
Several evidence markers could be seen behind the white car as well as on the driver’s side.
A handgun could be seen on the ground several yards away from the car.
Police confirmed the gun on the floor belonged to the suspect.
“My heart. I’ve been up all night,” said Liz Kofsky who lives nearby. “I’ve never been that close to hearing gunshots.”
Kofsky told 7News her neighbor had a run-in with the man who was shot by police.
“He said that he was riding his bike and somebody in a car pointed a gun at him,” she said. “The next thing he knew, somebody had already called the police.”
“I heard the officers yelling at him to get down, get down, and I guess I heard muffled, ‘Drop the gun’ and the guy was just standing there, and I couldn’t see if he pointed it at them,” said one witness. “All of the sudden they lit off, and it sounded like a pack of firecrackers going off. I mean probably 20 shots going off.”
Hours later, the white car was towed away and the broadwalk and street reopened. At least one bullet hole was spotted by the entrance to the beach.
The man’s condition is unknown.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is now investigating the shooting.
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