PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said a murder suspect is dead after they found him in a second-story apartment in Lake Park after a day of surveillance and pursuit.
The incident occurred at Evergreen Drive and Ninth Street at about 4 p.m.
The sheriff's office said tactical units were attempting to arrest 23-year-old Marcus Pettis on felony charges.
"About 10 minutes to four our tactical unit was surveilling a suspect for murder. They also have probable cause on him for drugs," Deputy Chief Frank DeMario said.
DeMario said Pettis was in a Uber. When his team initiated a traffic stop. Moments later, DeMario said Pettis began firing at his deputies.
"Saw us pull over, jumped out of the car, and started shooting at us. I don't know how many rounds were fired, six or seven but he did it in several different locations," he said.
The chase continued as the murder suspect tried to run away.
"We followed him to a building and on the second floor, we noticed some blood droppings on the first floor. We thought he was wounded," he said.
Instead, when they went into the apartment they found Pettis dead.
"We didn't have any involvement in the shooting," he said.
The scene was roped off and the investigation began. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the sheriff departments tactical management team soon arrived at the scene.
A scene where emotions ran high from folks in the neighborhood.
"It's too much violence the crime rate is too high," one lady said.
The two deputies that returned fire have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, which is normal procedure.
The FDLE, detectives with the PBSO Violent Crimes division and the State Attorney's Office are investigating the case.
