Law enforcement officer shoots, kills wanted man
A man was shot and killed Tuesday afternoon at a Cape Coral home when local law enforcement attempted to pick him up on an arrest warrant.
The U.S. Marshal’s Service Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force received information out of New Hampshire as to the whereabouts of a wanted felon, according to officials. The man’s name was not released as of press time.
At about 11 a.m., members of the task force responded to 523 S.E. Sixth Ave. to serve the warrant. The man could be seen inside of the residence by the task force. When they made contact with him, he fled into a bedroom.
“He barricaded himself in,” U.S. Deputy Marshal John Kinsey said.
A deputy with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office who is assigned to the task force then confronted the man, who was reportedly armed with a gun.
“The subject was known to have violent tendencies,” Kinsey said.
The deputy fired his weapon, striking the man, who died at the scene. Officials did not say Tuesday how many shots were fired by the deputy, where the man was fatally shot nor how many times the man was hit.
The warrant was for a probation violation for a serious assault.
Kinsey said the man was armed with a handgun when he was shot.
Another man was inside of the home at the time of the shooting. Kinsey did not believe he was facing charges. The man was not injured in the incident.
As of Tuesday, the LCSO was not releasing the name of the deputy.
As per the agency’s protocol, the deputy will likely be placed on paid administrative while a review of the shooting is conducted, officials said.
Pete Dibella, the owner of the home for eight years, was at the scene Tuesday. He said he had just rented the place to three people from New Hampshire on Thursday. He thought the victim was a friend of theirs.
“If the dude did what they said,” Dibella said of the man allegedly arming himself with a gun, “then more power to them (law enforcement).”
Neighbor Caridad Rios, of 530 S.E. Sixth Ave., explained that she was sleeping when the shooting occurred. She said she was “horrified.”
“It’s shocking,” Rios said Tuesday.
A resident of the neighborhood for four years, she explained that they always considered it a quiet area, that young children play in the streets.
“We thought we had a safe neighborhood,” Rios said.
The Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force is comprised of law enforcement officers from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Cape Coral Police Department, Fort Myers Police Department, U.S. Marshal’s Office and LCSO.