A Florida man is in critical condition after he was shot by a sheriff’s deputy in Palm Beach County when he began to threaten them with a machete on Tuesday evening, authorities said.
According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were responded to reports of a domestic disturbance in the 7400 block of 43rd Terrace North in unincorporated Riviera Beach around 6 p.m. and began to speak people about what had taken place.
“At that time, a young, black male walked out,” Chief Deputy Robert Allen said at a news conference. “(The deputies) tried to speak to him to see what his role in the incident was. As we walked passed them, he retrieved something out of the hedges that he knew was planted there.”
That object, Allen said, was a machete that was about a foot-and-a-half long.
“It was strategically placed in the hedge where he knew where to go retrieve it,” Allen continued.
That’s when the sheriff’s office said he began to advance toward the deputies, swinging the machete above his head, causing the deputies to back away and try to deescalate the situation.
Palm Beach County sherrif’s deputy on leave after shooting
They urged him to drop the weapon, but the sheriff’s office said he refused to do so and then began to advance toward the deputies once again. At that point, the sheriff’s office said a deputy shot the man.
They were able to immediately render aid to the man, and he was then taken to a local hospital to be treated. He’s currently listed in critical condition.
The deputy that was involved has been placed on administrative leave, which is standard agency protocol.
The incident is under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Violent Crimes Division.
