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The attacks happened Wednesday night in Pahokee, a city of about
5,500 people in South Florida.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of
two people being shot and found them dead, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw
said at a news conference. A short time later, authorities
received reports of shots being fired at a nearby home and
convenience store, where someone was wounded, Bradshaw said.
As a deputy was putting crime scene tape up at the second
shooting location, the suspect drove up and hit him, pushing the
deputy about 40 feet (12 meters), the sheriff’s office said in a
news release.
The man got out and tried to shoot the injured deputy, but the
deputy shot and killed him, the sheriff's office said. A second
deputy also fired shots.
Authorities identified the suspect as 44-year-old Charles
McCloud Jr. Bradshaw said detectives were trying to determine
the motive for the attacks and whether McCloud knew the victims.
No one answered calls placed Thursday to numbers listed for
possible relatives of McCloud.
“This guy went on one hell of a crime spree tonight, shooting
people, killing them, and then obviously trying to kill our
deputy,” Bradshaw said. “The deputy is very, very fortunate that
the initial strike with the vehicle didn’t kill him. But he
showed a great deal of courage, a great deal of stamina to be
able to get his gun out and neutralize this guy before he could
shoot him on the ground.”
The deputy, whose name has not been released, was taken to a
hospital with serious injuries, the sheriff's office said.
The sheriff's office identified the people who were killed as
37-year-old Henry McClean Jr. and 40-year-old Francisco Pacheco.
It identified the man who was wounded at the store as
54-year-old Anthony Brown, who remained hospitalized Thursday
with injuries that weren't considered life-threatening.
The deputy was placed on administrative leave, as per department
protocol, the sheriff's office said. The Florida Department of
Law Enforcement, the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office
and the sheriff's office's Violent Crimes Division are
investigating.
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