OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – An Osceola County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a 16-year-old shoplifting suspect inside a Walmart on Thursday after the teen pulled a gun and was running through the store, officials said.
The fatal shooting took place around 8 p.m. at 904 Cypress Parkway in Poinciana.
In a news briefing around 11 p.m., Osceola County Sheriff Christopher Blackmon said the deputy was working off-duty at the store for security.
“A loss-prevention officer notified our deputy at the front of the store that there were three men inside the store that had concealed merchandise,” Blackmon said. “The loss-prevention officer and our deputy attempted to meet those men at the front of the store.”
However, when they approached the trio, one of them took off running with a gun in his hand, Blackmon explained.
“And with that said, our deputy fired downrange at the suspect and took him out,” Blackmon continued. “(The suspect) had a gun in his hand, running through the store.”
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office said the suspect who was shot and killed was a 16-year-old Poinciana boy.
Meanwhile, the other two who fled the store — a juvenile and a man in his 20s — were later “identified and accounted for” on Friday, sheriff’s officials said.
No other injuries were reported.
“Our deputy is doing fine. He’s doing well,” Blackmon added.
[You can listen to Sheriff Blackmon’s briefing in the video below]
OCSO Public Information Officer Kim Montes told News 6 that an off-duty firefighter and another off-duty law enforcement officer happened to be at the scene and provided the responding deputy with cover.
Montes also said that people were hiding in the store as the situation unfolded.
The FDLE is investigating this deputy-involved shooting, per standard procedure.
No additional information has been provided at this time.