CRESTVIEW, Fla. (AP) — A man suspected of kidnapping a young woman in Massachusetts last month was fatally shot by law enforcement officers during a confrontation in the Florida Panhandle, authorities said. The woman is still missing.
The shooting happened Thursday morning outside a McDonald’s in the city of Crestview after a U.S. Marshals Service task force attempted to arrest the man, according to an Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office news release. The city is located about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of Pensacola.
As officers approached, the man fired at least once from inside a car, officials said. Officers returned fire, and the man was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity wasn’t immediately released.
An Okaloosa County deputy assisting the task force was placed on paid leave while state law enforcement officials investigate the shooting, authorities said. It wasn’t clear how many other officers fired or what agency they were with.
Police in New Bedford, Massachusetts, confirmed Friday that their detectives were heading to Florida as they continue to investigate the disappearance of 18-year-old Jalajhia Finklea. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe member has been missing since Oct. 20.
The U.S. Marshals Service didn’t immediately release additional details about the shooting.
Jalajhia Finklea, 18 is still missing. The 37 year old man police say abducted her, was killed in confrontation with US Marshals in Florida. “Now I have absolutely no clue where she is,” Jalajhia’s mother told me. My story @boston25 5/6PM pic.twitter.com/esERdad8Go
— Bob Ward Boston 25 (@Bward3) November 6, 2020
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