A Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputy shot a burglary suspect dead in a confrontation Monday afternoon in suburban West Palm Beach, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw told reporters.
Bradshaw, speaking at the scene of the shooting in the 4800 block of Orleans Court, identified the dead person as Tinoris Williams. He said Williams came close to killing the deputy after he grabbed the deputy's gun during a fight in a vacant apartment.
"The deputy's lucky to be alive," Bradshaw said. "He was literally in a fight for his life. That firearm was within an inch of (the deputy's) own head, and his last effort was to turn it just enough to get a shot off, otherwise he'd be dead back here, because the bad guy was getting the best of him."
Bradshaw described Williams as a "dangerous, violent felon" and said Williams had been arrested 30 times prior to Monday's shooting, which happened around 1 p.m.
Bradshaw said deputies responding to a burglary at an apartment received word that the suspect was next door inside a vacant apartment.
The deputy went into that vacant apartment and was immediately assaulted by Williams, Bradshaw said.
In addition to getting his hands on the deputy's gun, Williams also was able to grab the deputy's Taser out of its holster, Bradshaw said.
Bradshaw also said the deputy, whom he only identified as a "veteran" deputy, was hospitalized with eye damage because he was so close to the gun when he fired it.
It was the third shooting involving a Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputy since March 29, when Anthony Ribeiro, 48, was shot by an off-duty deputy outside a community pool in suburban Boca Raton. He was listed in critical condition.
On April 2, Matthew Pollow, 28, was shot dead by a deputy at the Tuscany Pointe apartment complex, also in suburban Boca.
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McClatchy-Tribune News Service
