Sheriff clears scene – two men are dead

Historic City News has learned that there are now two dead after a St. Augustine South neighborhood was evacuated by Sheriff’s deputies and special, tactical teams from cooperating law enforcement and emergency service agencies.

Emergency 911 operators received a call about 9:00 a.m. this morning from a witness who reported that a man appeared to have driven his vehicle off the road in the 200 block of Queen Road. Neighbors reported to investigators that they heard shots fired and they described a man seen running from the car into one of the nearby houses.

Upon arrival Sgt. Charles E. Mulligan, Public Information Officer for the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Officer, was on the phone with local reporters from Historic City News updating us as the tragic events unfolded.

One man was found dead in his car — the apparent victim of what has been reported as a shotgun blast. A second man, who is believed to have been the shooter, was hiding inside a nearby home; however, as hostage negotiators attempted to contact the man, there was no response.

Using special tactical equipment including a police robot and a special compact armored vehicle, law enforcement officers breached entry into the residence which had been surrounded for nearly an hour. The second man was discovered barricaded inside; he may have taken his own life.

As more information is released, Historic City News will continue to report the details.

Since the manner of death has been ruled homicide, both men’s bodies will be taken to the District 7 Medical Examiner’s Office to perform autopsies to confirm their identities and determine the exact cause of death.

According to Mulligan, the investigation is continuing in order to reconstruct the exact event sequence from this morning’s shootings.