An armed robbery suspect was shot and wounded last week after he drew a handgun and frantically struggled with a Florida sheriff's officer.
The shooting happened shortly after 6 p.m. July 16 when a Jacksonville sheriff's deputy spotted a pickup truck in a gas station parking lot that matched the description of a vehicle used in a Lake County armed robbery, WJXX-TV reports. After locating the truck, the officer also noticed a rifle in the front passenger seat.
When the vehicle's driver—identified as Brenton Paquin, 37—returned to the truck walking a dog on a leash, the officer ordered the man to sit next to the truck. Security and body camera footage captured the confrontation.
Paquin refused to comply, and he began to reach inside the truck, leading to the officer grabbing the suspect's arm. As the two fought, Paquin was able to pull a handgun from the vehicle, and he charged at the officer, gun outstretched.
The officer was able to reach his weapon and open fire. Paquin was struck, and the footage shows the officer performing life-saving measures on the suspect.
Paquin was rushed to the hospital, where he remained as of Tuesday. He has armed robbery charges pending from the Lake County Sheriff's Office and Clermont Police Department, and he's a person of interest in a Vermont homicide.
Along with the handgun Paquin drew, investigators also found six rifles and two shotguns inside the truck. Drugs also were recovered from the vehicle.
The incident remains under investigation.
