JACKSONVILLE, Fla.
--
A man with a knife who stole an officer's patrol car and crashed it into other police cars late Sunday night was shot and killed by police, according to Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Chief Rick Graham.
The incident happened at the Hilltop Village Apartments in the 1600 block of West 45th Street in Northwest Jacksonville, where a stabbing occurred 12 hours earlier.
Graham said the car thief tried to stab the other officers with a large knife. Two officers opened fire on the suspect, killing him, Graham said.
The incident began when officers responded to a call about someone stealing a bicycle at about 10 p.m. A witness identified the thief, saying he may have information about the earlier stabbing.
When officers tried to talk to the man, he took off running. The responding officer pursued him on foot.
"The suspect runs around the building, goes back to the officer's car ... jumps into the marked patrol car and speeds off," Graham said.
The officer radioed for help and was backed up by three other officers who were at the apartment complex investigating the earlier stabbing. Police said the man drove the patrol car through the apartment complex parking lot and crashed into the other patrol cars, pinning one officer inside his car.
"The suspects jumps out, has a very large knife in his hand, engages one of our officer in close-quarter physical altercation, trying to stab the officer," Graham said.
Graham said that's when two officers opened fire and fatally shot him.
"It was, like, machine guns," witness Maurice Hills said. "Like 50 rounds, at least."
Just before 8 a.m., tow truck took away the three police cruisers damaged when a suspect stole one of them and hit the others.
Three JSO officers were taken to Shands-Jacksonville Medical Center to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Police would not confirm if any of them were stabbed.
Graham said he does believe the incident was related to the stabbing near the intersection of 45th Street and Moncrief Road about 10:30 a.m. That victim, stabbed several times, was hospitalized in critical condition.
Just before 8 a.m. Monday, tow truck took three heavily damaged police cars from the scene.
Police have scheduled a 2 p.m. news conference to release more details on the incident. Channel 4 plans to carry it live on News4Jax.com.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Crimestoppers at 866-845-TIPS. You can remain anonymous and could be eligible for a cash reward.
Channel 4 is following developments on this story. This story will be updated as new information becomes available, with the next scheduled report on the local station at noon.
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