MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. – The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office released the name of the man shot by a deputy Tuesday after authorities said the man attacked a mall security guard with a metal pipe.
Deputies said William Lee Moon, 45, a resident of Winder, Georgia, was in Florida as part of a work crew for a construction project at the mall.
Moon was asked to leave the construction site Tuesday after his supervisor spoke to him about his “agitated manner.”
A coworker told deputies they saw Moon in the parking lot “acting erratically” and carrying a metal object, later determined to be a metal fencing post.
A mall security officer attempting to talk with Moon about his behavior was “the victim of an aggravated assault with a metal object,” the Sheriff’s Office said.
Mall security called the Brevard County Sheriff's Office for backup.
In a call to dispatch, released Wednesday, a mall security officer asked for help from the Sheriff's Office.
The security guard told dispatch that he responded to reports of a "man with a baseball bat," when he encountered Moon.
“He is attacking with a post or some sharp instrument,” the mall security member said. “I tried to approach him and he ran at me trying to hit me with it.”
“He said 'Don’t come near me, don’t come near me,’ he started screaming,” the security member said.
When deputies arrived Moon tried to also hit them with the metal post, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said.
"He became aggressive toward the deputy, swinging the piece of metal fencing post,” Ivey said.
[LISTEN: 911 call made by mall security below]
The Sheriff’s Office also identified the deputy who shot Moon as Deputy Marissa Wright, who has been with the department for two years.
Wright fired multiple rounds at Moon, and he was shot at least once, Ivey said. The man was airlifted to a hospital for further treatment; he is expected to survive.
"Shots fired, shots fired," a woman's voice yelled over the Brevard County Sheriff's Office radio after Moon was hit.
Neither deputy was injured.
Wright has served in the south and east precincts of Brevard County.
Wright has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into the shooting, which is standard law enforcement protocol when a deputy shoots someone.
Deputies said Moon has a lengthy criminal history in Georgia starting in 1989, including arrests for burglary, DUI, possession and more.
A spokesperson for the Sheriff's Office told News 6 the investigation into possible charges against Moon is ongoing.
This is the second reported deputy-involved shooting involving the agency this year. The other one took place March 19 and ended with the death of an armed, 19-year-old man suspected of attempting to rob a resident at an apartment complex. That case remains under investigation.