WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A witness to a fatal police officer-involved shooting gave her account of what happened at a West Palm Beach apartment complex parking lot Monday.
The shooting took place just after 3 p.m. at the Paradise Cove apartments in the 1200 block of The Pointe Drive, located just off Village Boulevard.
"I was in my dining room cleaning, and I just heard, 'Put the gun down. Put the gun down,'" the witness, who did not want to provide her name, said.
She said she first thought the sounds were from children playing, but when she heard the police commands again, she looked out her sliding glass door.
"He was walking towards his apartment, and the police said again, 'Put the gun down. Put the gun down,'" the witness said. "Then he like slowly turned around. But when he turned around you could tell he wasn't right."
Family members have identified the man as John McKinzie Jr.
The neighbor told WPTV that McKinzie appeared to have a gun in his hand at his side. She said she did not see it pointed at officers.
"He started walking up to them like he was trying to say something," the witness said, "at least that's what I thought, and then they just shot him."
WPTV asked West Palm Beach police spokesman Mike Jachles about the neighbor's account.
"The armed man did not listen to police commands to drop the gun, and when he came toward officers he was shot," Jachles said.
Images captured in the aftermath of the shooting showed officers appearing to render aid to McKinzie while on the ground.
McKinzie's family members said at the time of the shooting he was having a diabetic episode.
The witness said she is still struggling with what she saw.
"I don't know what it's like," she said. "I couldn't even sleep last night because it's like it kept coming in my face because it was the first time I ever saw that."
West Palm Beach police have not released body camera video nor 911 calls involving the incident.
Three officers are on administrative leave, which is standard protocol. Police said they are waiting on a medical examiner's report to determine if McKinzie had a medical condition.
McKinzie's family members told WPTV they have hired an attorney.
