PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — A knife-wielding man was shot after Port St. Lucie police officers responded to a domestic violence incident Friday afternoon, according to the chief.
The shooting occurred in the Spanish Lakes Golf Village at about 3:30 p.m. after two officers responded to a home on Montilla Way.
Police have identified the shooter as 35-year-old Alexander Taylor. He sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and was transported to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
WATCH BELOW: Police shoot man in Port St. Lucie after he 'charged them' with knife, chief says
"There were statements about a suicide by cop potential as the officers were arriving," Chief Leo Niemczyk said during an evening news conference. "They exited their vehicles. As they walked around the corner, they were confronted with an adult male charging them with a knife."
Niemczyk said the officers asked the man to drop the knife, but he continued to charge at them, prompting police to shoot him in the street.
"(The officers) started approaching the house carefully, but the subject exited the house and charged them," Niemczyk said. "These officers didn't have time to plan anything less lethal whatsoever. They just reacted with what they had to do at the time."
The chief said the two officers involved in the incident were not hurt but were taken to the hospital as standard procedure.
The victim, a family member of Taylor's, told 911 dispatchers he'd been battered by the suspect. The victim also told investigators Taylor had a history of mental health issues.
Niemczyk said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was contacted, and they have taken over the investigation.
Both of the officers, who have been with the Port St. Lucie Police Department for about three years, will be placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure.
Niemczyk said a preliminary review of facts showed this was a justified shooting.
