WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Two sheriff's deputies shot and killed an 18-year-old man who was attacking his father with a butcher knife during a welfare check Wednesday night, according to the sheriff.
The incident began when the suspect's mother called authorities, telling them she believed her son had taken something and was acting strangely. When the two deputies arrived at the home at approximately 8:17 p.m., they heard screaming and entered through the front door, where they found the father and son in a violent struggle over a butcher knife with an approximately 5-inch blade.
One deputy deployed a Taser, which was ineffective. Deputies also gave verbal commands ordering the suspect to drop the knife. The suspect did not comply with either measure.
The sheriff said the suspect had the father pinned to the ground in a stabbing position when the second deputy fired 3 shots, striking and incapacitating the suspect. The entire encounter lasted approximately 90 seconds.
The 18-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene. The father was transported to a hospital with a superficial wound to his hands. Authorities have not yet determined whether the injury was caused by the knife or shrapnel from the rounds fired by the deputy.
The sheriff said the deputies likely saved the father's life.
"It was obvious that this kid — actually he's not a kid, he's 18 — was going to stab this father, so the deputies took the action that they had to take to disable the son," the sheriff said. "For all intents and purposes, the deputies probably saved the dad's life because this was a very violent struggle over this knife, and they did what they had to do."
The suspect's mother told dispatchers her son had a history of mental illness and had been acting irrationally prior to the call. The sheriff said the suspect had no prior contact with the sheriff's office outside of a mental health-related incident in 2025.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the state attorney's office are investigating the shooting. The state attorney will determine whether the deputies acted properly.
Both deputies have been placed on administrative leave, which the sheriff described as standard policy regardless of the circumstances of a use-of-force incident.
"It doesn't indicate that they did anything wrong at all," the sheriff said.
The suspect's name has not been released under Marsy's Law.
