Florida deputy shot during traffic stop dies two days later
A Florida deputy who was shot twice while performing a traffic stop on a still-at-large suspect died from his injuries Sunday afternoon.
Nassau County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Moyers, 29, died at UF Health in Jacksonville around 2:20 p.m. Sunday, two days after he was shot, Sheriff Bill Leeper announced.
“Please keep Josh’s family and fiancé in your thoughts and prayers as we navigate this terrible tragedy,” Leeper said in a statement.
Moyers was shot once in the face and once in the back around 2:30 a.m. Friday when he pulled over the driver of a stolen minivan, identified by police as 35-year-old Patrick McDowell despite giving a fake name when he was pulled over.
When Moyers attempted to get McDowell, a trained Marine, out of the car, the suspect allegedly shot him in the face, then again in the back after he fell.
McDowell and the woman in the passenger seat then drove off, racing across train tracks just seconds before the warning arms came down, according to the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office.
When the pair got out of the car and hid in a shed nearby, the woman told McDowell that she didn’t want to be involved, left and called police.
A deputy called in for backup arrived less than a minute after the shooting and found Moyers.
A massive manhunt is still underway for McDowell, with more than 300 investigators from multiple law enforcement agencies around the state searching for the suspect.
Leeper said Saturday that officials believe McDowell is still in the area after finding his flashlight and hat.
Police also believe McDowell shot a K9 officer on Friday with a rifle that has since been recovered.
“If you’re in a home, and he breaks in your home and you have a gun, blow him out the door,” Leeper said. “Because he’s like a rabid animal. He will kill you.”
A reward of more than $50,000 is available for information that leads to McDowell’s arrest.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office at 904-225-5174 or Crimestoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.
McDowell was last seen wearing a black T-shirt, white undershirt, camouflage shorts and black shoes. He is listed at 6′0″ and 170 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes, with a tattoo on his left shoulder that says “Death Before Dishonor” and another on his right arm that says “EGA.”
Moyers is survived by his fiancée, Ivy.
