PANAMA CITY — A shotgun-wielding man was shot and killed by police on Beck Avenue early Saturday morning after refusing commands to drop the weapon and instead “engaging” officers, according to Panama City police.
The identify of the man was not released Saturday, nor was the name of the officer or officers involved in the shooting. There were no reports of officer injuries.
In a news release, the Panama City Police Department said officers responded to a report of a white male carrying a “long gun” in the 1200 block of Beck Avenue at around 5:30 a.m. Police encountered the suspect and after numerous commands to put down the gun the suspect “engaged” officers and they returned fire, according to the PCPD.
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The suspect was shot and transported to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, police said.
Late Saturday morning, a swath of Beck Avenue from 11th Street north to near 13th Street and the St. Andrews Farmer’s Market remained blocked by crime scene tape. Details were scarce as business owners blocked from their businesses and others gathered to watch officers work inside the crime scene.
A Florida Department of Law Enforcement crime scene van was stationed at midway through the crime scene. The FDLE is routinely asked to come in when there are officer-involved shootings.
A few buildings up from the south crime scene tape barrier on Beck Avenue, locals wondered exactly what had happened and took in what details they could find. A few storefronts up on the west side of Beck Avenue sat a white pickup truck with a yellow evidence marker sitting on the top. To its right and just in front of it, the entire glass storefront of Clara Jean’s Antiques, 1107 Beck Ave., was blown out, shattered glass littering the sidewalk and a stuffed rabbit leaning forward out of the storefront through the opening.
Not too far away there appeared to be a shotgun laying on the ground.
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People headed to the Saturday Farmer’s Market were detoured, but given an alternate route in so that the market could open. An employee at the St. Andrews Waterfront Farmers Market who did not want to be identified said he did not see the shooting occur but heard gunfire. The employee said the shooting occurred around 5:30 a.m. and that he heard an officer saying for the shooter to “put the gun down.”
An employee at Captain’s Table who also did not want to be identified said the shooting happened at 5 a.m. and the suspect’s body was on the ground after being shot.
Police were expected to release more information as it became available, and it was unknown Saturday afternoon how long the area would remain shut down for the affected businesses.