Police fatally shoot hostage-taking gunman in south Brevard after 3-county pursuit
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GRANT — A Cocoa Beach gunman who took two women hostage and led law enforcement officers on a multi-county chase was shot dead by police early Sunday in south Brevard County, authorities said.
The women, one of whom was shot and seriously wounded by the gunman, were rescued, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in a video posted to Facebook early Sunday.
"This guy picked the wrong place to pick a gunfight and he's no longer stealing oxygen on earth," Ivey said.
The incident began about 8 p.m. Saturday in Osceola County, where the pursuit began, according to the Brevard sheriff's office. The man, identified as 42-year-old Curtis Kimbrough of Cocoa Beach, led deputies into Brevard County and Indian River County on Interstate 95, Ivey said. The man shot at Indian River County sheriff's deputies before heading to Brevard, he said.
"He was even shooting out the window at our deputies," Ivey said.
The chase ended around midnight on U.S. 1 in Grant when one of the hostages was able to escape from Kimbrough's car. He then crashed in a wooded area near Old Dixie Highway and Foley Lane.
Kimbrough then took the other woman at gunpoint and ran into the woods, pursued by Brevard and Indian River deputies, as well as officers from the Sebastian Police.
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A gunfight involving multiple officers and the gunman ensued, and Kimbrough was killed, Ivey said. None of the names of the law enforcement officers involved are currently being released, he said. No police officers were reported injured.
Of the two hostages, whose names were not disclosed, a 33-year-old woman was treated and released from the hospital while the 41-year-old woman who suffered a gunshot wound remains in the hospital in serious condition.
Ivey was accompanied in the Facebook video by Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers and Sebastian Police Chief Dan Acosta, who both spoke to the teamwork exhibited by police agencies involved.
The Brevard County deputies involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation, which is sheriff's office protocol for deputy-involved shootings.
Tyler Vazquez is the North Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Vazquez at 321-917-7491 or tvazquez@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @tyler_vazquez
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Gunman who took women hostage killed in Brevard after 3-county chase
