http://www.nbc-2.com/story/33702378/shooting-on-i-75

Witness: Armed person shoots, kills suspect attacking deputy

ESTERO, FL
A suspect is dead and a deputy is in the hospital after a shooting took place on I-75 near the Corkscrew Road exit, according to Lee County deputies.

Witnesses who say they saw the whole thing happen told us a deputy tried to pull over a man near the exit.

The suspect took off in his vehicle reaching speeds up to 100 miles per hour. Eventually, the driver got out of his car and attacked the deputy. That's when witnesses say a third person came over and shot the suspect.

"My husband was honking his horn to try and stop the guy to get some attention from him, and another guy with a blue shirt came out with a gun," said Shanta Holditch.

Holditch described the scene that closed the Corkscrew Road exit for hours. It backed up traffic along I-75 for miles and left one person dead.

"The officer had his flashers going and trying to follow the guy, and as soon as we got off the ramp, the guy stopped. The officer stopped," recalled Holditch.

Witnesses saw the driver attack a Lee County sheriff's deputy before they say another man ran up with a gun shouting at the suspect to stop.

"The officer opened his door, and the guy got out and ran out and grabbed the officer out of his car and started beating him profusely, throwing him to the ground and punching him in all different directions," said Holditch.

"I heard like three shots. He fell down on top of the police officer," said Mr. Smith, a witness. "After a moment, the police officer rolled him back over, got on his mic, then rolled over back on the ground besides the guy."

The scene covered miles from the I-75 S Corkscrew Road exit to where the law enforcement helicopter landed twice. Two miles ahead, Florida Highway Patrol and cadets were seen canvassing for evidence.

"I was just trying to get out of the way, but I got surrounded," said Smith.

Those who saw it for themselves were still in shock over what happened.

"The guy that protected, shot the bad guy, was a guy that pulled over on the ramp and saw the guy beating the officer. He pulled out his gun," said Smith.

It is unclear if that person was a Good Samaritan or an officer not in uniform. The deputy who was attacked was rushed to the hospital, but he is expected to recover.

Sky2 video of the scene shows two vehicles. Both cars remain at the scene and have been central to the investigation with crime scene technicians in and out of them.

The whole scene backed up traffic along the interstate for miles and closed the exit. Investigators remain on the ramp still looking for evidence. The southbound exit ramp at Corkscrew Road will remain closed until 9 p.m. Troopers advise drivers to use Three Oaks Parkway and US-41 as alternate roadways.

We were supposed to hear from Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott Monday afternoon. But 20 minutes before the news conference, the sheriff's office canceled. Aside from their first update Monday morning, deputies have yet to release any new information about the deputy or the suspect.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BamaJeepster,

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:...

Witness: Armed person shoots, kills suspect attacking deputy...

From as much as is in this report.

Sierra Hotel!

Good for the guy who shot the bad guy.

We have way too much of idiots attacking police officers, and way too many officers being killed.

Hope the good guy does not end up with a staggering legal defense bill.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom should be awarded to this person by President Trump.

That would send a message to the BLM crowd.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
From as much as is in this report.

Sierra Hotel!

For reals...I searched several other articles and this one had the most information in it - and the shooting was this morning with multiple witnesses. Journalism is dead in this country, on all levels.

So much not said or included. I had to read most of the article to get the idea it maybe happened in Florida. Maybe the OP should include that when he posts articles where the paper or news organization doesn't bother. In the post above, the poster implies it might be racial. Doesn't have to be. The results are pretty much the same, the bad guy took some bullets and croaked right where he deserved to die.

Does not matter to me if the attacker was black,white Hispanic etc.Not all the BLM crowd are black, but they all cheer violence on the police. A message needs to be sent that the citizen will protect the police if needed and some sort of national recognition would send a strong message.

Violence against the police has to stop. I cannot fathom how a group of people can think it's ok. I applaud what this guy did. Don't care one bit the race or nationality of the attacker. This one ended how it should.

quote:

Originally posted by rburg:
So much not said or included. I had to read most of the article to get the idea it maybe happened in Florida. Maybe the OP should include that when he posts articles where the paper or news organization doesn't bother. In the post above, the poster implies it might be racial. Doesn't have to be. The results are pretty much the same, the bad guy took some bullets and croaked right where he deserved to die.

Right under the headline, it says Estero, Fl.

quote:

Originally posted by Scurvy:
Right under the headline, it says Estero, Fl.

I added that after rburg's post. The original article (and post) did not say in the text which state it was in. There was a map if you clicked on the link that showed it was Florida, so I just added that for clarity to the text based on his suggestion.

I can contribute to the defense fund. I think they should have some way for the department lawyers to help with the defense as a thank you for saving the deputy.

"funny" how after searching the name of the deputy, the good samaritan, and the sheriff, I can find exactly ONE story via Google on this.

quote:

Originally posted by wcb6092:
The Presidential Medal of Freedom should be awarded to this person by President Trump.

That would send a message to the BLM crowd.

Don't hold your breath--especially if the attacker were Black.

flashguy

I have just started assuming, if the article doesn't mention color in any way, then it was a black "villain" and a white "hero".

great story - good for him

I hope he is well shielded, if not the Gov should give this guy blanket immunity

They updated the story this morning with a little more information although the department has still not released the name of the deputy or the citizen who intervened.

According to a witness the citizen ran up and yelled at the guy to get off the officer, but the perp kept beating him and the officer started yelling for the citizen to shoot him. The citizen then fired 3 times and took the perp out.

http://www.nbc-2.com/story/33702378/shooting-on-i-75

Very proud of this citizen!

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016...er-traffic-stop.html

another driver got out of his car and ran to the scene. He told the suspect that he'd shoot him if he didn't stop beating the deputy.

"[He] refused to get off the officer and the officer kept yelling, 'shoot him, shoot him, shoot him,' Holditch said.

When the suspect didn't stop his attack, the third man shot him three times. The deputy was not hit. The suspect later died.

WINK reported that the suspect was armed and the bystander who shot him possessed a concealed weapons license.

Shot him 3 times while in close proximity to the officer. Not bad marksmanship. He gets a get out a ticket card for life that he should just hand over with his license next time he's pulled over for going a bit too fast.

Well, Shanta's husband DID honk the horn... Does he get a medal too?

Way to be a man, Mr Holditch...