Deputies had 'no choice but to shoot' man wielding machete on Okaloosa Island, sheriff says
OKALOOSA ISLAND — Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden says deputies had “no choice” but to shoot a man who reportedly attacked two tourists on the beach Friday morning.
Deputies responded to The Boardwalk on Okaloosa Island at 8:11 a.m. after receiving a call regarding a man armed with a machete, Aden told reporters at a press conference later Friday morning.
Previous coverage: Man shot, killed by OCSO deputies after allegedly attacking two visitors with machete
In Fort Walton Beach: FWBPD: Seven-month investigation leads to three arrests in shooting death of Tykeis Noland
On the way to the scene, Aden said the OCSO was notified that a married couple from Georgia had been attacked while walking along the beach. Deputies arrived about 3 minutes after getting the call.
“It was an unprovoked attack by this individual,” he said. “The wife was pushed by the husband to get out of the way for safety and run.”
The man suffered a laceration to his back shoulder and was pleading with the suspect to put the weapon down when deputies arrived, Aden said.
The first deputy on the scene tried to block the victim from the suspect, who was reportedly “going back and forth wielding the machete.”
“The suspect continued to advance and after multiple pleas with him, the second officer arrives and the individual clearly rushes toward both officers that are now standing there at a very unsafe distance,” Aden said after reviewing footage from their body-worn cameras. “There was no choice but to shoot at the individual.”
The suspect, a man in his 30s, was killed. His identity had not been released as of Friday.
No law enforcement officers were hurt.
The area around The Boardwalk was partially roped off with crime scene tape after the incident and OCSO crime scene vehicles could be spotted from a distance. Still, the beach remained open and fairly busy with visitors going to and from the area.
Aden said the suspect is believed to be homeless and was known to frequent the area. Deputies reportedly had encountered him previously, but Aden did not know whether the suspect was known to be violent or had been treated for mental illness.
“When the officer was pleading with him, he was saying, ‘Hey, you know me, you’ve dealt with me before. It’s not worth it. Put the knife down. Your life is worth more than this,' ” Aden said.
Multiple homeless people who were in the area told deputies the suspect had expressed suicidal and homicidal thoughts to them before the alleged attack, Aden said. The victim also told deputies he was wary of the suspect.
“According to our victim, he assumed that he was having some mental illness, which he clearly did if he was having these homicidal and suicidal thoughts,” Aden said. “He said the reason he believed that is he was speaking to the machete as he walked past him.”
The victim’s wound “was pretty bad,” but not life-threatening, Aden added. He was taken to an area hospital and was in stable condition.
Multiple people on the beach reportedly witnessed the attack, but there were no other known victims.
The Sheriff’s Office was continuing to investigate Friday. The State Attorney’s Office was notified and both deputies involved have been placed on temporary leave while the investigation is underway.
“Any time we have an officer-involved shooting, no matter what, they’re going to take a secondary look at it to make sure everything looks in accordance with our policy and state statute,” Aden said. “From what I can see, they did exactly as they were trained.”
While speaking with reporters, Aden described the situation as a “matter of life or death" for the deputies and the victims involved.
"They were in a very dangerous position," he said. "They’re dealing with somebody that’s already harmed somebody, could have killed somebody, and had a very serious deadly weapon on him and was very aggressive and not complying with demands."
Body camera footage from the incident will be released after the investigation is complete. Aden said there is no other threat to visitors in the area.
“It’s terrible, all the tragedies that we’ve seen here lately, and this is one of them. This is a paradise that we live in and we’re fortunate to live here,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that these kinds of things happen all over. These are random acts of violence. You cannot predict this type of behavior.”
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Okaloosa Island Boardwalk shooting: OCSO gives more details on incident
