Local law enforcement officers find Union County double homicide suspect deceased in vehicle on I-75
Press release from Alachua County Sheriff’s Office
ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – On Tuesday, February 3, just after 5:00 p.m., the Alachua County Combined Communications Center received a call from the Union County Sheriff’s Office regarding a double homicide that had occurred within their county in the past hour.
Union County deputies advised that a person of interest in the homicide was believed to be driving a black Ford F-150 and that the vehicle was possibly traveling northbound on U.S. Highway 441 through Alachua County, near High Springs. Deputies, High Springs Police Department officers, and Alachua Police Department officers immediately began utilizing real-time intelligence systems in an effort to locate the vehicle. Information obtained through those systems indicated the vehicle had traveled through High Springs and Alachua and was believed to have entered Interstate 75 southbound.
At approximately 5:26 p.m., Patrol Operations Deputy W. Williams notified Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) Dispatch that he was behind the vehicle near mile marker 386, traveling south on I-75. Deputy Williams was soon joined by additional ACSO deputies, as well as troopers from the Florida Highway Patrol.
At approximately 5:30 p.m., deputies and troopers attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle. The driver fled at a high rate of speed, continuing southbound on I-75, and ACSO Deputies initiated a pursuit that continued south on I-75. Due to the extreme violence associated with the Union County incident and the dangerous speeds involved, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper conducted a Precision Immobilization Technique (PIT), causing the vehicle to come to rest on the west shoulder of the interstate.
Deputies and troopers worked together to contain the scene and issued numerous commands for the driver to exit the vehicle. Simultaneously, the ACSO SWAT Team, ACSO Aviation Unit, Gainesville Police Department Drone Unit, and ACSO Negotiations Response Team were activated. After receiving no response for an extended period of time, members of the SWAT Team utilized specialized equipment and tactics to approach the vehicle, where they determined the lone male driver was deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
At the onset of this incident, ACSO personnel took immediate protective measures to prevent any citizen injuries by shutting down Interstate 75 in both directions.
We commend the deputies and Florida Highway Patrol troopers who worked together to resolve this extremely dangerous situation.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, in conjunction with the Union County Sheriff’s Office, is investigating the double homicide that occurred in Union County. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims whose loved ones were taken by this senseless act of violence.
“…real time intelligence systems…” is likely Flock Cameras. Technology that was useful for this scenario but also monitoring every citizen that is not guilty of a crime in real time as well.
Flock, Vigilant, and cell phone pings and your vehicle if it is new enough. Everyone is being photographed and tracked.
They actually do not monitor citizens they read tag numbers they have no idea who’s in the car so get your facts straight
Hours after the co-owner of a St. Paul toy store criticized the federal government’s immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities during a national television interview, workers there said a pair of federal agents suddenly showed up to announce an audit of employee records.
In another case, protesters observing Immigration and Customs Enforcement movement said officers called them by name, and even led them back to their own home. To the protesters, the incident felt like a bold attempt to silence dissent.
Again puking out crap. Why not go to Minnesota and play within the ICE and FAFO since you are so obsessed with them ousting illegal trespassers.
The newest Flock systems are now going up on local shopping centers, Walmart and Publix in Butler Plaza. They are obviously a valuable tool, but the possibility of illegal and inappropriate use is inevitable. Mixed bag. Those systems track every car and then the past history can be pulled up at any time or you can enter specific alerts and pull up real time movements. They probably track bicycle tags too ( sarcasim).
Along with every Lowe’s and Home Depot, they have them monitoring what cars comes and goes out of the parking lot
Honestly, I could care less if they know (or even want to know) where I am. If someone stole my car, I’d be more than happy for them to find it using this method.
Unfortunately the authorities won’t be getting information regarding the double homicide.
Fortunately, there won’t be any costs of a trial.
Prayers for the two victim’s family in Union County. Its always sad to see that a coward who wants to off themselves anyway need to take other people’s lives too.
You have no legal presumtion of privacy when using your cell phone. Call records and locations are available by subpoena to law enforcement.
Correct, I think the jest of most comments is the government is always watching and can track your every move. There are ways to stop vehicle tracking by disabling certain in computer functions and block bags for the phone and or ghost phones. That requires a lot of effort though. But tag tracker/traffic cams are hard to beat too. So most legal people have nothing to worry about it is used more to track criminals, terrorist types
Police have always had methods to obtain location information for suspects of crimes. These methods used to require establishing probable cause and obtaining a search warrant, which provides oversight and accountability as required by the 4th Amendment. ALPRs, on the other hand, collect location data on all of us, and they are searched without any warrants or oversight.