Just before 2 a.m. Saturday, Crestview Police Department officers discovered a suspicious vehicle at a closed business near the 1600 Block of South Ferdon Boulevard, Police Department officials said in a news release. They said officers made contact with a subject who was determined to be armed with a firearm and was making suicidal statements.
“For nearly three hours, officers spoke with the subject attempting to peacefully resolve the situation, before the subject pointed a firearm at an officer, which led to an officer involved shooting incident resulting in the subject’s death,” Police Department officials said. “No officers were injured during the incident.”
As a departmental procedure, the Police Department requested the assistance of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to conduct an independent investigation of the officer involved shooting.
“As this investigation has been referred to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Crestview Police Department will refer any future inquiries to them,” Police Department officials said.
According to an employee of a business that stands near the shooting scene, the shooting happened by the Michles & Booth law firm office on the southwest corner of Duggan Avenue and SR 85.
The suspect, a 25-year-old man, aimed an AK-47 rifle at officers, who then fired 31 rounds at the suspect to end the threat, according to the employee.
Crestview Police Chief Steve McCosker, however, today said the source of that information “took some liberties” and did not provide a fully accurate account of the incident. The chief referred questions to the FDLE.
“Our department is cooperating fully with the FDLE while it conducts its investigation,” McCosker said.
FDLE officials declined to comment on the shooting because the investigation remains active.