JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man who had called police saying he wanted to commit suicide was shot and killed by officers outside a residence in the 3600 area of MacGregor Drive on Tuesday night, according to police.
At about 5:05 p.m., police received a call from a man who told dispatchers he wanted to kill himself and others, and that he had handguns and rifles in his residence. According to Chief Adam Brown, the suspect told dispatchers, "Send the SWAT team; I want to get killed."
Police responded to the area, set up a perimeter and attempted to make contact with the suspect, Brown said.
"He came out, saw the police, and decided to go back in and arm himself," Brown said.
When he came back out of the house, he was armed with a handgun. One of the officers saw the handgun and said over the radio, "He's got a gun," Brown explained.
The officers told him to drop the gun; he refused and instead turned toward the officers and began to raise the gun, Brown said.
Two of the officers, Sgt. Tony Batrous and Officer Kenon Samuel, fired their rifles at the suspect, killing him. No officers were injured in the incident.
Batrous, a 12-year veteran, fired five shots, and Samuel, a four-year veteran, fired two shots, Brown said. This is the first officer-involved shooting for Samuel and the second for Batrous.
JSO is still investigating the incident. During a search after the shooting, officers found an assault rifle on a couch inside the residence, but Brown said no one else was in the home.
Neighbor Mike Summersill, who lives just a few doors down from where the shooting took place, said the suspect, whose name has not been released, lost his wife to cancer a while ago and battled an alcohol addiction. Summersill said it wasn't uncommon to hear gunshots coming from the home.
"Just every now and again, he'd shoot a pistol down there," Summersill said. "You know, especially on the holidays... stuff like that."
This is the seventh police shooting of 2014. Four, including this one, have been fatal. Seven matches the total number of police shootings in 2013.