Man holding "incendiary devices" shot by officer, Fort Lauderdale police say
FORT LAUDERDALE - An officer was forced to fire after encountering a burning pile of rubbish in the parking lot of a commerce area and a man holding "incendiary devices" early Thursday morning, according to Fort Lauderdale police.
The department said they received a call around 6:30 a.m. about a fire at 5341 NW 333 Avenue. When officers and Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue arrived they encountered a large fire next to a shopping cart, according to police Detective Ali Adamson.
But that was not all.
"They encountered a suspect holding incendiary devices. The suspect was given verbal commands to drop and did not comply. As a result, there was an officer-involved shooting," said Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Bill Schultz.
The chief said two officers fired their weapons, the man was killed. He did not say if the man attempted to throw the device.
Police said firefighters extinguished the flames and there was no structural damage.
Schultz said earlier in the morning, around 3 a.m., there was a structure fire about a block away and they are trying to determine if the two fires are connected.
An area property manager, who did not want his name used, said they've been dealing with a lot of people experiencing homelessness.
"There are quite a few of them around here, you see them all the time walking around. They do weird things at night. There's a guy in a tent out here on the main canal, stuff like that. As a property we've been trying to get rid of them as a community around here," he said.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will investigate the shooting. The two officers who fired their weapons are on paid administrative lead pending the results of the FDLE investigation.
