Two Jacksonville sheriff’s officers shot and killed a suspected car thief after they said he brandished a handgun during a foot pursuit overnight.
Undersheriff Shawn Coarsey said Patrol Task Force officers in a covert vehicle observed the suspect in a known stolen vehicle near 61st and Main streets at about 11:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 10. Two weeks earlier, the suspect was seen in the same stolen vehicle, although he had been switching out the license tags. Coarsey said officers confirmed he was armed at the time and got away.
Once spotted again Tuesday, they called in marked units and followed him to the 11000 block of Kaleel Road off Interstate 295 near Dunn Creek Road. Coarsey said he pulled into a driveway and took off on foot as officers chased him over some fences and through backyards.
Sgt. M. Howell fired his Taser twice at him, but it was unknown if the probes made contact, the undersheriff said. That’s when the suspect pulled out a gun, and Howell and Officer. M. Higginbotham fired multiple shots killing him at the scene, Coarsey said. No one else was in the vehicle.
The Sheriff’s Office has not released the man’s name, pending notification of next of kin. For Higginbotham it was his first police shooting in eight years on the force. For Howell it was his third in 11 years, Coarsey said.
This was the city’s fourth police shooting of the year, two fatally. Last year’s first police shooting didn’t take place until Feb. 11, but 2025 ended with 17, 11 of which the suspect was killed, according to Sheriff’s Office records.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville sheriff’s officers shoot and kill armed car thief