ST. LUCIE COUNTY — A Florida Highway Patrol trooper and a man fleeing a traffic stop exchanged gunfire late Thursday night on Interstate 95, after which the suspect died from what authorities described as a self-inflicted gunshot wound, FHP told Sebastian Daily.
The shooting occurred about 11:30 p.m. Nov. 12 near the 141-mile marker, roughly three miles north of Indrio Road, according to a statement from Lt. Indiana Miranda, an FHP spokesperson.
Miranda said the incident began when a trooper initiated a traffic stop.
“The subject fled from the traffic stop, resulting in a pursuit that subsequently escalated into an exchange of gunfire between the trooper and the subject.”
Following the exchange of gunfire, the man “sustained what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound and was pronounced deceased at the scene,” the FHP said.
The name of the deceased has not been released, and no further details about the circumstances of the shooting were immediately available.
Both directions of I-95 were shut down after the incident, the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office reported. As of 10 a.m. Friday, northbound traffic was being diverted at Indrio Road in St. Lucie County, while southbound traffic was diverted at Oslo Road in Indian River County.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is now leading the investigation.
