A man was shot and wounded by Palm Beach County deputies Wednesday night during a welfare check when the man pointed a gun at deputies, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Deputies were conducting a welfare check in the 5600 block of Via Delray in Delray Beach at about 11:30 p.m. when they encountered a man threatening suicide. Deputies followed the man as he walked up and down a canal bank, trying to establish a rapport. Deputies said the man pulled a gun and put it to his head and walked into the canal, according to the statement.
Deputies continued to try to talk to the man. When the man pointed the gun at deputies, they “discharged their firearms striking the male in the upper torso,” the sheriff’s office said.
The man is in stable condition and expected to survive.
Per standard procedure, the deputies involved are on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, PBSO Violent Crimes detectives and state attorney’s office investigators.
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