HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating a police-involved shooting that occurred Monday night in Hollywood, authorities confirmed Tuesday morning.
According to Hollywood Police Officer Christian Lata, who is also a spokesman for the agency, officers were called to the 3100 block of Surf Road around 10:45 p.m. in reference to a naked white male walking around the area.
Lata said officers arrived at the scene to find the naked man holding a gun.
He said officers tried to de-escalate the situation, but the man’s actions forced them to shoot at him. He did not specify the details of the suspect’s actions.
“(It) sounded like a 20-pack of firecrackers being lit off, you know? ‘Pow, pow,’” one witness said.
Video taken from a Hollywood Towers resident’s balcony shows a police officer with his flashlight near the building.
“I only saw when the suspect was actually out of his car and being yelled at to drop his gun or get down," the resident said. "I heard, ‘Get down!’ several times. Then the officers must have felt threatened and they opened fire on the suspect. He was still alive because they were moaning there on the floor as they were handcuffing him. Never a dull moment in South Florida.”
A nearby resident, Liz Kofsky, said heard the shooting and her next-door neighbor is shaken up.
“He said that he was riding his bike and somebody in a car pointed a gun at him. The next thing he knows, somebody had already called the police,” she said.
According to Lata, officers rendered aid to the man who was eventually transported to a local hospital by Hollywood Fire Rescue. He said the suspect’s condition is unknown at this time.
No officers were injured during the ordeal and the suspect’s gun was recovered at the scene, Lata said.
Authorities had a white car blocked off in front of the building, which was towed away Tuesday morning.
It’s unclear whether that car belonged to the suspect.
The suspect’s identity has not yet been released.