(This developing story has been updated with new information.)
A shooting suspect was barricaded on the highway, causing standstill traffic for several miles throughout Southwest Florida Wednesday afternoon, July 22.
A local resident of 23 years said that she was stuck in traffic about 100 feet from the spot where she could see law enforcement officers with their guns pointed at a silver pickup truck that had crashed into the grassy median on Interstate 75 near the Alico Road exit.
“I saw him open the door to his car and then [law enforcement] started firing, and then he closed the door after,” Jordan Nerney said.
Suspect allegedly shot and killed St. Petersburg city employee before fleeing to Lee County
The St. Petersburg Police Department responded to reports of a person shot on 12th Avenue South in St. Petersburg shortly after noon.
Upon arrival, officers discovered a 47-year-old woman who worked for the city as a sanitation technician had been shot and killed while sitting inside her sanitation truck, the police department said in a social media post.
The woman was a mother of four, and she and the suspect knew each other personally.
The suspect fled the scene and the Florida Highway Patrol found him in Lee County.
St. Petersburg Police Department did not immediately respond to inquiries made by The News-Press & Naples Daily News about the suspect and related homicide.
What happened after he fled scene of the crime?
The Florida Highway Patrol received a Be On the Lookout alert at around 12:30 p.m. for a suspect who authorities believed to be suicidal and involved in the St. Petersburg homicide, the FHP said in a press release shortly after the suspect was apprehended.
A precision immobilization technique (PIT) maneuver was executed on the suspect’s vehicle after he was located in Lee County.
Then, “the suspect refused to comply with lawful commands and barricaded himself inside his vehicle,” the press release stated.
The suspect was transported to the hospital with serious injuries. His identity was not disclosed.
No law enforcement was injured on scene, the release says.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will continue the investigation.
The local Southwest Florida impact of the police standoff
The News-Press spoke with Nerney at approximately 4:35 p.m. on Wednesday, July 22, and at the time, Nerney was actively still waiting in standstill traffic in I-75.
However, by that point she witnessed law enforcement officers drag someone out of the passenger side back seat of the pickup. Nerney was uncertain if the person that was pulled out of the vehicle was alive or dead, or if that person was the suspected shooter.
Video provide by Nerney showed a pickup door open amid a hail of gunfire.
The Florida Highway Patrol told The News-Press & Naples Daily News that as of 5:30 p.m., the scene was stabilized and a person was brought into custody. The identity of the suspect remains unconfirmed at the time. It is also unknown if there were any injuries or deaths as a result of the incident.
Traffic camera footage from the Florida Department of Transportation depicted slow-moving traffic near Alico Road as of 5:30 p.m.
Nerney said that she was scared to be so close to the standoff, especially with the thought that a stray bullet may hit her. Nonetheless, she was “intrigued like everyone else who was nearby.”
Several people had gotten out of their cars to take photos and videos of the incident, but law enforcement officers soon told highway spectators to get back into their cars, Nerney said.
Traveling from Estero to North Fort Myers, Nerney said she had already been sitting in the traffic for over an hour. She said that many people could be seen driving down the sides of the highway lanes, which contributed to the traffic chaos.
As of 6:40 p.m., a 14-mile strip of the northbound lane of I-75 between Bonita Beach Road and Alico Road was severely backed up. The southbound lane was still closed as of 6:40 p.m., with Tamiami Trail seeing increased traffic as rush hour commuters attempt to bypass the highway closure.
Some drivers on Facebook shared photos of standstill traffic and expressed frustration of traffic delays. Others reported a heavy police presence in the area as the northbound lanes began to slowly move.
Facebook posters also shared videos and photos of the standstill traffic near the Alico Road exit, as some motorists can be seen standing outside their cars on the highway.
Mother of two feared that shooter could be nearby
One Southwest Florida mother said that she got onto I-75 at Corkscrew Road around 2:45 p.m. and in an hour and a half, hadn’t even made it five miles before being stuck in the traffic.
Melissa Wallace, a local resident of 27 years, said she was fearful about learning that the reason she was stuck in that traffic was due to a shooting suspect.
Wallace said that her two children, ages 9 and 13, were in the car with her and it was scary because she wasn’t sure how close the shooter might be to her family.
The investigation is ongoing.
Tayeba Hussein is a breaking news reporter for The News-Press & Naples Daily News. Reach her at thussein@usatodayco.com.
Alexa Ryan contributed to this report.
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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: ‘They started firing’: Witness describes SW FL murder suspect standoff on I-75
Reporting by Tayeba Hussein, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tayeba Hussein, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
