But no one had ever walked into his house carrying a gun before Saturday, when a stranger walked into Oliver’s bedroom while he slept and started talking to him. He carried a gun in his hand at his side but didn’t point it.
“He seemed like he was all there mentally, but he was nervous, and he seemed legitimately scared,” Oliver said.
The Panama City Police Department Monday released a report that identifies 30-year-old David Harmon of
Harmon told Oliver he needed a place to hide out because someone was trying to rob him. Oliver said he was doing everything he could to keep the situation from getting out of hand when he gave Harmon a pair of shoes and a different shirt to wear.
“It could’ve gone bad real fast,” Oliver said.
Oliver began to suspect Harmon was lying about something.
“It’s just the fact that he had a gun in his hand, and people with guns are not afraid of people,” Oliver said.
He went outside to look for anyone who might have been trying to rob Harmon, who slowly followed him outside. There was nobody there. Oliver told Harmon he was in the wrong place and couldn’t stay.
Harmon walked away. In a nearby parking lot he found Dee Kenney, whose company was wrapping up an overnight job pressure washing a business parking lot. Kenney was sitting her vehicle when Harmon approached her.
“He said, ‘let’s go for a ride,’ “ Kenney said.
She said no, and Harmon showed her his gun and demanded she take him down the street. She was terrified when he got in the back seat.
Kenney told him that she wouldn’t call police if he left her alone, but she wouldn’t be able to drive him anywhere because her vehicle wouldn’t start, which was true.
Harmon got out and walked away again. Kenney didn’t call police, but there were officers nearby who caught up with Harmon moments later and shot him. They had already been called by another man who said he’d been approached at a nearby hotel by a man who wanted to use his car.
“I heard the gunshot,” she said.
The Panama City Police Department has not identified the officer or officers who fired, and officials with the department didn’t respond Monday to several calls seeking information about what prompted the shooting. Police said Saturday Harmon was shot in the stomach. His condition is unknown.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is investigating the shooting. A spokesman for the FDLE declined to release any information into the agency’s ongoing investigation.