WAKULLA COUNTY, FL (WTXL) — A heavy police presence filled the Hidden Meadows neighborhood in Crawfordville on Friday following an officer-involved shooting.
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The individual involved was transported to the local hospital, and the deputy involved was unharmed.
According to the sheriff's office, the deputy involved was acting in self-defense when a violent confrontation happened.
In a release sent out Friday afternoon, deputies were serving civil paperwork at a home in the Hidden Meadows neighborhood. The deputies made contact with the individual, and he refused to exit the home to speak with the deputies and locked himself inside.
After extra deputies arrived to help, the individual exited the home armed and moved aggressively toward the deputies. That's when the sheriff's office deputy used his service weapon to defend himself and the other deputies nearby.
A neighbor reporter Serena Davanzo spoke to off camera said they heard three shots.
Other neighbors she spoke to, who were only a few houses away from the scene and were not witnesses, said they were shocked that something like this happened in their peaceful neighborhood.
"I said, okay, oh my God, what has happened? Because at first I stopped, and the police officer came to my car, and I said, I'm just trying to get to my house right here, and he said, just come on by. So that was a relief that I could get into my house, even though I stopped right there, but seeing the crime take down the street didn't make me feel very comfortable with it," Theresa Wright said.
Neighbor Matthew Schmidli was even more shocked, as he hasn't seen anyone on that property.
"When I tried to turn down that street to come home, I was shocked that it was that specific house. So we've been here for three years now and I've never seen anybody in that house. You know, the yard usually gets really long and then somebody mows it. I've never seen whoever mows it. I've never seen the trash get moved out, so I didn't think anybody was in there," Schmidli said.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is involved in the investigation.
"So, this will be treated like any other use of force with the sheriff's office. Obviously, this is a much, you know, more serious incident than a lot of other use of forces. Per our policy, officer-involved shootings, we are assisted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, so they will be handling and helping with this investigation as well," Capt. Jeffrey Yarbrough said.
The sheriff's office wants to remind neighbors there is no active threat to the community. They're in the process of obtaining arrest warrants for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
This is an active investigation, and the sheriff's office hopes to release more details soon.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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