PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Following a tense standoff on Wednesday afternoon, Port St. Lucie police said a man was found dead inside a vehicle at a shopping plaza.
In a post on X at approximately 2 p.m., the Port St. Lucie Police Department said officers responded to the Landings at Tradition, located in the 10500 block of Southwest Village Parkway, for an armed man "barricaded" inside a vehicle.
PSLPD is in the parking lot of the Landings at Tradition for an armed barricaded subject in a motor vehicle.
— Port St. Lucie PD (@PSLPolice) June 19, 2024
Please avoid the area as there is a heavy police presence.
Media staging area is the northwest corner of the Chicken Place. pic.twitter.com/03svR16Ar8
Police told WPTV journalist Cassandra Garcia just before 4 p.m. that the man, identified as Christopher Pringle, 33, of Atascosa, Texas, was found dead.
Police said Pringle was visiting Florida and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The weapon was a .22 caliber handgun that appeared to be homemade, according to police.
A photo from the Port St. Lucie Police Department showed at least three officers in the parking lot with their guns drawn, along with multiple police cruisers and what appeared to be an armored law enforcement vehicle.
Garcia said crisis negotiators were at the scene and police deployed chemical agents and used flashbangs during the standoff.
