An Ormond Beach (Fla.) Police Department officer was shot at a Daytona Beach, Fla., hospital Sept. 21 while guarding a man who was in police custody.
The officer was shot at AdventHealth Daytona Beach (Fla.), according to Sept. 21 news reports from The Miami Herald and NBC affiliate WESH.
The suspect, Michael Hightower, 40, of Daytona Beach, is in custody, according to a Sept. 21 news release from the police department. Mr. Hightower was transported to the hospital for a medical evaluation after being taken into custody regarding a separate incident on Sept. 20. Around 3:20 a.m. on Sept. 21, he became involved in a physical altercation with the officer assigned to guard him, during which the suspect grabbed the officer’s firearm and shot him in the leg, the release said.
The shooting occurred after a separate incident Sept. 20 in which the suspect allegedly assaulted a 79-year-old man and a 74-year-old woman outside Daytona College in Ormond Beach, which is about 4 miles away from the hospital.
The suspect faces two counts of attempted felony murder tied to the assault outside Daytona College. The Daytona Beach Police Department is investigating the shooting of the officer with additional charges to come, the release said.
The police officer is expected to make a full recovery, Dayton Beach Chief of Police Jakari Young said during a news conference livestreamed on its Facebook page. A spokesperson for Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth shared the following statement with Becker’s on Sept. 21:
“The safety of our patients, visitors and team members is always our highest priority. We are grateful for the swift actions of those who responded and our hearts are with everyone affected by this incident. We are supporting local law enforcement as its investigation continues, and all inquiries should be directed to local authorities.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 3 p.m. Central time on Sept. 21 to include information from the police department and to correct the date the shooting took place.
