Off-duty Florida wildlife officer fatally shot while trying to stop driver

Suspected gunman in custody, report says

Julian Keen.

LABELLE, Fla. – An off-duty Florida wildlife officer was found fatally shot early Sunday after he tried to stop a driver suspected in a hit-and-run crash, authorities said.

Florida Wildlife Conservation officer Julian Keen Jr. was found fatally shot in rural Hendry County, and three suspects were in custody, according to the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

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WINK reports that the suspected shooter, Eliceo Hernandez, 20, has been arrested as of Monday morning.

The law enforcement agencies provided no other details.

Julian Keen was killed while off-duty trying to stop a hit-and-run driver. (Copyright 2020 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.)

Keen, 30, grew up in LaBelle, Florida, in Hendry County, according to the Fort Myers News-Press. Keen’s nickname was Batman because he wanted to help those in need.

“FHP Command Officers are praying and remembering our fallen but NEVER forgotten brother, FWC Officer Julian Keen, who was murdered last night while following his calling to protect and serve others," the Florida Highway Patrol Command Officers Association posted on Facebook. “He was a genuine officer who would literally give his shirt off his back to ANYONE who needed it."

Keen had been with FWC since 2016.


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