EUSTIS, Florida—More details were released in the Eustis Police Department officer-involved shooting shortly after midnight Wednesday morning.
The suspect, described as a black male with a thin build, approximately 6 feet tall and was wearing a grey hoodie, black pants and a surgical mask, according to EPD Capt. Jon Fahning.
The man ran up behind a woman around 9 p.m. on Morningview Drive, near Eustis High School, grabbed her, groped her and threw her to the ground. It is unclear who called EPD, but two officers responded and as one officer pulled up, the suspect returned to his vehicle and got inside; a second officer arrived and was outside of his patrol unit approaching the suspect when he ducked below the steering wheel and then accelerated toward the officer who was on foot and the officer opened fire, Fahning said. It is unknown if the suspect was shot.
The male suspect fled the scene in a black early 2000s Cadillac Escalade EXT, crashed into another vehicle, continued to flee and escaped. The front passenger side of the Escalade has heavy damage, and its passenger side headlight was out prior to the crash, Fahning said. The Escalade EXT looks like a pickup truck, not an SUV and Inside Lake is working on getting still images from videos that captured both the suspect and the vehicle.
Police are looking into the possibility the suspect from Tuesday night is the same suspect who attacked a woman in April. The woman was jogging northbound around 10:30 a.m. April 21 on Country Club Road when the man came up behind her and grabbed her in a “bear hug” and thrust his hips into her in an aggressive and sexual manner, Fahning told Inside Lake in April.
The victim hit the unidentified man with a water bottle, and he fled southbound on Country Club Road. The woman was not injured, Fahning said. That suspect was described as a black male, approximately 6 feet tall, wearing all black, including a black hoodie and a black and blue mask—very similar to the man who attacked the woman Tuesday night.
EPD is urging anyone with information about the suspect or the vehicle to call EPD at 352-357-4121.
Female Jogger Fights Off Attacker with Water Bottle in Eustis Friday Morning
