SOUTH DAYTONA, Fla. – South Daytona police say the gunman who was shot and killed by authorities after trying to rob a tanning salon sexually assaulted the woman inside of the salon.
The gunman, identified as 28-year-old Cheyene Pinkney, was shot and killed on Tuesday afternoon outside of the Hot Tans on Beville Road in South Daytona after attempting to rob the salon.
Police said before the robbery, Pinkney was asked to leave a massage business located next door to Hot Tans after the owner said Pinkney "creeped her out" as he asked for a massage.
The worker at the Kyoto Massage and Spa said that Pinkney came to her shop three times asking for a massage and felt that something wasn't right so she asked him to leave.
South Daytona police are investigating the robbery and sexual assault.
Police said the robbery was thwarted Tuesday afternoon after the woman inside pressed a silent alarm. When Pinkney spotted officers, he ran out of the back door and came into contact with a South Daytona police officer and a Daytona Beach police officer, officials said.
The officers fired at Pinkney, and he was taken to Halifax Hospital. Pinkney died at the hospital. No officers were injured, police said.
It's not clear if it was a verbal or physical threat that prompted police to shoot Pinkney, who has a long criminal history and served four years in prison for armed robbery charges in 2007.
The names of the two officers involved in the shooting have not been released and Florida Department of Law Enforcement will investigate.