A Floral City man, thought to be possibly suicidal, was shot and killed on Friday night by Citrus County deputies.
The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office said that the incident occurred at about 11:52 p.m. when deputies responded to a call of a possibly suicidal man at a home at 5699 Sandalwood Way in Floral City.
Once deputies arrived on scene, they attempted to make contact with the subject at the front door. After unsuccessful attempts to locate the subject inside of the residence, deputies then began to search the outside of the home in an effort to locate and evaluate the man.
While in the front yard of the residence, deputies noticed a subject across the street in a wooded area, the Sheriff’s Office said. Deputies immediately began announcing themselves while walking toward a man in the woods. Deputies quickly noticed the man was holding a firearm.
Deputies gave several verbal commands to the man to lower and drop his weapon. After refusing their commands, deputies shot the armed man.
He was pronounced deceased at the scene. No deputies were injured during the incident.
As with any deputy-involved shooting, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is on scene and investigating this case. Following agency policy, deputies involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave with pay, pending the outcome of the preliminary FDLE investigation.
This is the second time this week a death occurred after an encounter with deputies.
The first was on Thursday, when a Beverly Hills woman, 45-year-old Jessica Cribbs, was shot and killed during a drug search warrant. In that incident, the woman pointed a gun at officers and refused to put it down. She was subsequently shot by a Hernando deputy and killed. The warrant for the drug search was executed by law enforcement officers from Citrus and Hernando counties.
UPDATE:
The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office on Sept. 6 identified the suicidal man shot by deputies is 64 year old Dennis Ray Blalock from Floral City.