Following a protracted pursuit and a carjacking, a police officer shot and killed a man suspected of being involved in a mass shooting in central Florida last month, according to authorities. In Winter Haven, the car being driven by 21-year-old Alex Greene eventually struck a structure.According to Lakeland Police Chief Sammy Taylor, the accident occurred close to Lakeland, where 11 people were hurt in the shooting on January 30.
“We are very confident he was in fact involved; to what extent we don’t know yet,” Taylor said.
According to Taylor, police wanted to question Greene about the shooting that occurred on January 30 in an area close to downtown Lakeland, some 30 miles east of Tampa, by bringing him in on an outstanding burglary warrant.
Greene got into a pickup vehicle and began to drive away as deputies from the Lakeland Police Department, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement were conducting surveillance, according to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.
Along a busy thoroughfare, the Lakeland police gave chase.
In an unmarked car, police captain Eric Harper attempted to intercept Greene “so that we don’t have this pursuit on a very crowded road,” according to Judd.
Greene exited the car after a successful pit manoeuvre and began sprinting into oncoming traffic.
“Why he and the captain weren’t run over is just the grace of God, because traffic was all over the place,” Judd said.
Greene raced towards a restaurant where a woman was standing outside her car with the doors open when he realised he couldn’t escape, according to Judd. After slamming the passenger door and attempting to close the driver’s side door after spotting Greene.
Judd claimed that Greene shoved the woman away before getting in the car. Harper came up with his rifle ready.
“The suspect takes off in her car, drives toward Capt. Harper, who shoots six times,” Judd said. “The car continues down a road, weaves through flower beds and crashes into a building.” According to the sheriff’s office, the building was vacant.
Law enforcement officials pulled Greene from the car and started performing CPR. He was taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead.
“No one else was injured in the pursuit, which we are all grateful for,” Judd said.
According to Judd, Greene was previously charged with 10 felonies, including resisting arrest, violence on a law enforcement officer, and running to evade capture. He was wanted on a warrant for burglary and burglary conspiracy.
The state attorney’s office and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office are both conducting investigations into the shooting.
The Jan. 30 shooting left two victims in serious condition, while the other eight victims’ injuries weren’t thought to be life-threatening. Police reported that the victims were all males between the ages of 20 and 35.
That afternoon, as a car passed through the neighbourhood, the suspects reportedly started shooting out of all four of the vehicle’s windows. Information regarding any further shooting suspects was withheld by officials.
According to officials, the shooting was a “targeted strike.”
