OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – A shoplifting suspect who was shot and killed by an Osceola County sheriff’s deputy at a Poinciana Walmart after pulling a gun and running through the store was identified Friday as a 16-year-old, according to the sheriff’s office.
The shooting happened around 8 p.m. at 904 Cypress Parkway in Poinciana.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office said a deputy, who was working off-duty at the Walmart for security, was notified by a loss-prevention officer of three people who “had concealed merchandise.”
The deputy, along with the loss-prevention officer, approached the three people before one of them took off running with a gun in his hand, according to Osceola County Sheriff Christopher Blackmon.
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“And with that said, our deputy fired downrange at the suspect and took him out,” Blackmon said. “(The suspect) had a gun in his hand, running through the store.”
Deputies identified the suspect who took off running with a gun as a 16-year-old Poinciana boy.
The two other subjects with the teen — a juvenile and a man in his 20s — fled from the store but were later “identified and accounted for” on Friday, according to the sheriff’s office. They have not been arrested.
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No other injuries were reported.
OCSO Public Information Officer Kim Montes told News 6 that an off-duty firefighter and another off-duty law enforcement officer were at the scene and provided the responding deputy with cover.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating this deputy-involved shooting, per procedure.
“Because FDLE is investigating this Officer Involved Shooting, the Osceola Sheriff’s Office will not be releasing any additional information regarding the shooting at this time,” sheriff’s officials said Friday.