A man threatened to kill himself and his mom, PBSO said. A deputy shot them both before he could.
DELRAY BEACH — A Palm Beach County sheriff's deputy wounded a man and his mother in suburban Delray Beach on Tuesday, in what was the third deputy-involved shooting in two weeks.
Deputies, who were not wearing body cameras, arrived at a home along the 5300 block of Madison Road shortly after 9:30 p.m. Tuesday for reports of an attempted suicide. Deputies said that as they spoke to a 37-year-old man armed with a pink kitchen knife, he grabbed his mother and threatened to kill her.
A deputy shot, striking the son in the shoulder and his mother in the elbow. Paramedics took them to a hospital, where they were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
The sheriff's office did not release the name of the deputy who fired the gun. The deputy is on paid leave while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, PBSO Violent Crimes detectives and the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office investigate the incident.
PBSO spokesperson Teri Barbera declined to say whether the responding deputies were formally trained in crisis intervention techniques or accompanied by a licensed mental health worker, as the agency does not comment on open investigations.
Upon release from the hospital, the son was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a weapon and false imprisonment while armed, the sheriff's office said. His arrest report was not available Wednesday.
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Tuesday's incident was at least the fifth shooting involving law enforcement in Palm Beach County this year, and the third in two weeks.
In May, an off-duty West Palm Beach police officer shot and killed 33-year-old Romen Phelps during an encounter at Dreyfoos School of the Arts. West Palm Beach investigators alleged that Phelps, a Dreyfoos graduate, crashed his van through the school's gate and attacked an officer in its theater.
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In July, a PBSO deputy shot and wounded 20-year-old Tzvi Allswang at a residence in suburban Boca Raton. PBSO investigators alleged that Allswang was holding a knife to a woman's throat when deputies confronted him, and said the man had held the woman, a social worker, hostage for several hours.
A PBSO deputy shot and wounded 21-year-old Jose Villanueva of suburban Lake Worth during an "active shooter" incident in a Publix supermarket parking lot in Greenacres on Sept. 26. Villanueva died of his injuries two days later.
One week after the shooting at Publix, a PBSO deputy inadvertently shot a fellow deputy while attempting to defend his colleague from a pit bull attack. The wounded officer's injuries were not life threatening.
Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Mother, son hospitalized after fourth PBSO-involved shooting this year
