Near the shooting scene. {Broward County PBA}
By Kevin Deutsch
A Margate Police officer fatally shot a suspect Sunday who also fired a gun and pointed the firearm at officers, authorities said.
The dead man was identified Monday as Jose Antonio Suarez, 82, of Margate, who authorities said was pointing a gun at people and firing his gun into the ground before officers arrived.
According to the Broward County Police Benevolent Association, Margate Police responded to a 911 call about a subject with a firearm in the area of Northwest 1st Street and Rock Island Road shortly before 1 p.m. Sunday.
The subject fired shots before Margate officers arrived, the police union said in a Facebook post.
“Once Margate officers arrived on scene, the subject fired additional shots and pointed the firearm at Officers,” the PBA’s post states. “A Margate Officer was forced to fire to protect the public, other Margate officers, and himself.”
Broward PBA President Rod Skirvin and Executive Board members Amalin Hernandez and Don Huneke went to the scene of the shooting, along with PBA Â attorneys Mike Braverman and Brian Silber, according to the post.
On its Facebook page Sunday afternoon, the Margate Police Department said it was working an “active police investigation in the 100 block of Rock Island Road” and asked residents to avoid the area.
Gretl Plessinger, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which investigates police-involved shootings, told Margate Talk Monday that FDLE investigators were at the shooting scene until late Sunday night and would return to the scene today.Â
“At the request of Margate PD, FDLE is investigating an officer-involved shooting that happened at NW 1st Street and Rock Island Road in Margate,” Plessinger said in an email. “FDLE received the request to investigate just after 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. FDLE agents were on-scene until late last night and will return today. They continue to conduct interviews and gather evidence.”
Rock Island Road was closed at Southgate Boulevard and West Atlantic Boulevard while authorities investigated.
Additional details were not immediately available.
Chelsea Trinka Kiley, a local youth baseball league mom, said in a Facebook post, “there were 25 young boys playing baseball 40 yards from where this happened,” including her own.
“The terror that washed over me in that moment is something that I will never forget,” she wrote.
“The Margate PD response was swift, and their action was immediate. Anything less would/could have been tragic. Because of those officers, every player and parent made it home safe to their families. I am forever grateful.”
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