A Broward Sheriff’s deputy fatally shot an 18-year-old man who shot himself during a fight with his mother in Cooper City, the Sheriff’s Office said Monday.
Boston Cassano, of Cooper City, was in a physical fight with his mother near the 10200 block of Griffin Road about noon and “made suicidal remarks,” then shot himself. Cooper City deputies and Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue were called after Cassano shot himself, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The area is near a shopping plaza with multiple businesses and restaurants. Officers were investigating inside of a McDonald’s on Saturday afternoon.
Cassano “attacked” one of the deputies who approached him. The deputy shot Cassano, and fire rescue intervened to give medical treatment, the Sheriff’s Office said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The deputy who shot Cassano and Cassano’s mother, who were not shot, were both taken to a hospital and had been discharged as of Monday. The Sheriff’s Office did not provide information about their injuries.
As is standard policy, the deputy is on administrative assignment while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates. The Sheriff’s Office did not release the deputy’s name.
It is at least the 12th shooting involving South Florida law enforcement officers since the start of the year. Several happened as officers responded to domestic-related calls, including in Boynton Beach in April when multiple officers shot a man who pulled a machete on his father at a public park.
Also in April, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a domestic violence call at a home and found a 20-year-old man stabbing his father to death with a sword. A deputy shot him to death, and the man’s father died from his injuries.
Earlier this month, a man who was suspected in multiple robberies and a recent shooting that left someone in critical condition died after a shooting with a Hollywood Police officer.