Panama City police respond to shooter barricaded in apartment complex
A Florida man suspected of killing one person and injuring another has died inside an apartment complex in Panama City, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to HuffPost.
Authorities identified Kevin Holroyd as a suspect in the shooting, said Caitlin Lawrence, a spokeswoman for the Panama City government, citing BCSO. Online records show Holroyd, 49, lives on Beck Avenue, the area to which police responded.
The suspect had barricaded himself in an apartment and fired at law enforcement, according to Lawrence. A bomb squad attempted to breach the front door where Holroyd was hidden but had difficulty because the suspect had barricaded the door from the inside, police said.
A spokeswoman for BCSO said Holroyd had doused the apartment in gasoline when police entered. It’s still unclear how he died.
An injured civilian is currently at Bay Medical Sacred Heart Hospital in stable condition, according to a hospital spokeswoman. BCSO identified the injured as an EMS worker who was “grazed” by a bullet.
Multiple agencies responded to the scene, including Florida Fish and Wildlife and the Florida Highway Patrol.
I’ve spoken with Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford to offer any state law enforcement assistance his office may need. FDLE, Florida Highway Patrol & FWC officers are currently assisting.
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) May 22, 2018
Photos from local publications showed police officers lying on the ground and taking cover behind vehicles with guns drawn.
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter that the shooting is related to a “suspicious death” in Santa Rosa Beach. Authorities identified that victim as 30-year-old Clinton Street. The scene of the shooting is roughly 40 miles southeast of where Street’s body was discovered earlier Tuesday.
CONFIRMED: Suspicious death on White Heron Drive in Santa Rosa Beach is connected to incident being worked by @BayCountySO. #breaking#happeningnow
— Walton Co. Sheriff (@WCSOFL) May 22, 2018
Kim Coram, co-owner of local restaurant Charlie Coram’s Place, told HuffPost that she began hearing what sounded like gunshots around 1:45 p.m.
“We were in the middle of our lunch rush and heard quite a number of shots so we’ve decided to cover in place,” Coram said. “We just tried to keep all customers inside.”
“There’s quite a number of marked and unmarked police cars, fire trucks,” she added. “They’ve got a lot of the road blocked in both directions. ... You never really expect this to happen in this area ... At this point, I’m just hoping everyone in the area is safe.”
Multiple schools in the area were placed on lockdown.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
