WEST PALM BEACH — A department official said that a West Palm Beach police officer shot and killed a person Monday at a condo complex off Village Boulevard.
The shooting happened shortly after 3 p.m. after police were called to The Pointe condos near the Village Commons Shopping Center about a break-in by a person “with a gun.” A spokesman, Mike Jachles, said in a news release that the person was armed with a gun.
The statement says that a cop “was forced to fire” at the person “during the response.” The statement said that cops started CPR and other life-saving measures as soon as the person was hit, and they did so until West Palm Beach Fire Rescue medics got to the 1200 block of The Pointe Drive.
At the spot, the medics said that the person was dead. The person’s name was not given right away by the police.
Jachles said that the cop wasn’t hurt in any way. The police didn’t name the officer right away.
The officer-involved killing will be looked into by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It is at least the third time this year that a law enforcement outfit in Palm Beach County has shot someone, but the first time that someone has died.
On May 1, a Palm Beach County sheriff’s officer shot and hurt Denley Junior Alexis, 20, at a shopping center near Boynton Beach.
Alexis was carrying two knives, according to Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, and he was shot when he tried to charge at officers. Alexis was arrested on charges of aggravated assault on a police officer and violently fighting arrest.
In 2022, the West Palm Beach Police Department shot and killed two people. One of them was Roman Phelps, who was 33 years old and died at the Dreyfoos School of the Arts in May.
Recently, State Attorney Dave Aronberg ruled that the officer who shot Phelps while he was off-duty did not go too far and will not be charged with a crime.
In November, a man was shot and killed near 15th Street and Windsor Avenue. West Palm Beach cops were also involved. The name of the man who died was not given out by the police.
