An officer-involved shooting has left a 30-year-old Black male dead in the Longbranch area early Wednesday morning. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office reported that at approximately 7 a.m., officers were dispatched to East 16th Street following reports of the suspect, a man with mental health issues, attempting to set a house on fire and being armed with a knife. When located by a canine officer on East 25th Street near Buckman Street, the suspect, whose identity has not been disclosed pending next of kin notification, failed to adhere to the officer’s commands and fled.
The pursuit escalated when the suspect reportedly threatened the pursuing officer with a knife. According to the official statement, after the suspect made threats with the knife, Officer C. Bumgarner dropped his conducted energy weapon, more commonly known as a Taser, and in response, drew his firearm and shot the suspect. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office shared that additional officers arrived swiftly to disarm the suspect and provide emergency medical assistance, but the man succumbed to his injuries at the scene…