PAHOKEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a man suspected of killing two people at one location, firing shots at another and then wounding someone at a nearby store before striking the deputy with his SUV and dragging him some distance, authorities said.
The attacks happened Wednesday night in Pahokee, a city of about 5,500 people in South Florida.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of two people being shot and found them dead, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at a news conference. A short time later, authorities received reports of shots being fired at a nearby home and convenience store, where someone was wounded, Bradshaw said.
As a deputy was putting crime scene tape up at the second shooting location, the suspect drove up and hit him, pushing the deputy about 40 feet (12 meters), the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
The man got out and tried to shoot the injured deputy, but the deputy shot and killed him, the sheriff’s office said. A second deputy also fired shots.
Authorities identified the suspect as 44-year-old Charles McCloud Jr. Bradshaw said detectives were trying to determine the motive for the attacks and whether McCloud knew the victims.
No one answered calls placed Thursday to numbers listed for possible relatives of McCloud.
“This guy went on one hell of a crime spree tonight, shooting people, killing them, and then obviously trying to kill our deputy,” Bradshaw said. “The deputy is very, very fortunate that the initial strike with the vehicle didn’t kill him. But he showed a great deal of courage, a great deal of stamina to be able to get his gun out and neutralize this guy before he could shoot him on the ground.”
The deputy, whose name has not been released, was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office identified the people who were killed as 37-year-old Henry McClean Jr. and 40-year-old Francisco Pacheco. It identified the man who was wounded at the store as 54-year-old Anthony Brown, who remained hospitalized Thursday with injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening.
The deputy was placed on administrative leave, as per department protocol, the sheriff’s office said. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office and the sheriff’s office’s Violent Crimes Division are investigating.
