ORLANDO, Fla. – Orange County deputies on Tuesday shot a man who approached them with a metal rod after he tried to carjack a vehicle at a gas station.
Sheriff John Mina said during a news conference that deputies responded to a Chevron gas station on West Michigan Street in response to a traffic crash and disturbance just before noon.
According to Mina, the suspect who was also involved in the crash, punched a person and tried to carjack a truck before approaching deputies “in a charging posture” with a metal rod. The truck then crashed into a pump at the gas station.
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“When our deputies arrived, the man was holding a metal rod. He approached deputies, refused their commands. He continued to approach the deputies and run at the deputies,” Mina said. “One deputy did use a Taser, which seemed to be ineffective. That man turned back around and ran at the deputies still holding that metal rod.”
Mina said that’s when two of the deputies shot the suspect, who was taken to the hospital and is in surgery. No other information was released about the status of the man’s injuries.
“We’re still trying to find out if this was an actual traffic crash. There are reports that he just rammed into the back of someone, then pulled over here, hit another vehicle, got into a confrontation with someone,” Mina said.
Mina said the man faces charges of attempted carjacking, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and battery.
No deputies were injured in the incident, Mina said. The person who was punched by the suspect suffered minor injuries.
The shooting will be investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.