JACKSONVILLE, Fla — A man who officers say was wielding a machete is dead after he was shot by a Jacksonville Sheriff's officer Saturday night.
T.K. Waters, chief of investigations for the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, said first responders were called to the 4600 block of Monroe Smith Road at 9:45 p.m. in response to someone needing medical assistance.
Once at the scene, Waters said a man came out of the home with a machete in hand and chased the first responders across the street to a wood line. The first responders hid and called JSO. The man soon returned to the home.
Two officers arrived at the scene just before 10 p.m. and approached the home, Waters said. As officers tried to make contact with the man, Waters said the subject once again came out with a machete and moved "very quickly" toward the officers.
That was when Officer R. O. Gutcher shot at the man three times, killing him. Gutcher was placed on administrative leave and the State Attorney's Office is conducting an independent investigation.
2020 Duval County Homicide Tracker Map