ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — A man wanted in connection with a homicide in Palm Beach County was killed following a standoff with law enforcement on Interstate 95 in St. Lucie County that shut down major portions of the highway for hours.
On the grass along the interstate, just south of Orange Avenue in Fort Pierce, there was a downed light pole, pieces of the suspect's SUV and tire marks where Florida Highway Patrol troopers executed a PIT maneuver to end the overnight chase.
WATCH BELOW: Neighbor speaks to WPTV, recounts 'scary' I-95 standoff near her home
Sara Cardenas, who lives just yards away from the scene, saw and heard it unfold.
"We could see through our bedroom window," Cardenas said. "We stayed up most of the night until it was over."
St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro said during the two-hour standoff, crisis negotiators tried to get the suspect to surrender.
"That's what they were doing out there," Del Toro said. "Trying to get this to a peaceful situation."
Cardenas said she could hear it from her home.
"(They were) just reiterating, 'We want to end this peacefully, please put your gun down,'" Cardenas said. "It just kept going and going and going."
Region C Palm Beach County
Neighbors of shooting victim describe suspect as 'mad at the world'
The sheriff said the suspect kept getting in and out of the SUV with a gun pointed at his head, refusing to stand down.
"He was very agitated, very irritated, very difficult to deal with," Del Toro said.
According to the sheriff, the suspect also said he had another gun.
Just after 1 a.m. — when the suspect advanced towards deputies — Del Toro said the SWAT team used non-lethal rubber ammo to stop him.
"Unfortunately, this did not stop him," Del Toro said. "He did drop the gun, but immediately picked it back up and pointed it at our deputies."
That's when investigators say three Florida Highway Patrol troopers and four sheriff's deputies fired shots and killed him.
"They really had no other choice but to engage the suspect," Del Toro said.
The sheriff said it's not the ending he hoped for, but their training helped keep law enforcement officers and the public safe.
"We're going home at night, at the end of the day," Del Toro said. "I'm just thankful that we have the training that we do and the discipline we do."
Cardenas is thankful that law enforcement kept her family safe while the standoff occurred nearby.
"It could have been a lot worse," Cardenas said. "That's kind of scary for us being here."
