A 71-year-old woman is in critical condition after she walked into the Port Orange Police Department lobby with a firearm Thursday morning, exchanged words with staff, and fired shots toward the area where employees were working before officers shot her outside the building. No officers or civilian staff were injured in the gunfire, which erupted around 8:30 a.m. inside the department's own front lobby.
The woman has been identified as Linda Jean Croteau, according to WPBF 25, which reported that she engaged with department staff members before brandishing the firearm and firing toward the area where they were working. Three officers were involved in the shooting that followed, and none were hurt, the station reported. Officers took Croteau to a local hospital, where she remains in critical condition.
Port Orange Police Chief Manuel Marino told reporters at a news briefing that Croteau exited the front lobby and was confronted by responding officers in the department parking lot while she was still holding her firearm, according to WFTV. That account, however, conflicts with what an eyewitness across the street described to reporters.
Witness Account Clashes With Police Version
Eyewitness Caleb Lemons told WFTV he watched Croteau exit the police station, drop her gun, walk to the curb, sit down, and place her hands on her head before officers opened fire. That description stands in direct contrast to the chief's statement that she was still armed and holding the weapon when officers confronted her. The station's report does not resolve which version is accurate, leaving investigators to sort out the sequence of events.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will review facility surveillance, body-worn camera footage, and forensic evidence to construct a precise timeline of what happened, per standard protocols under which local agencies request FDLE conduct independent investigations into officer-involved shootings. The three officers involved in the shooting are part of the review as investigators examine what happened.
Family Points to Recent Loss
Croteau's stepson said she had been struggling since the recent loss of her husband, according to a sister station cited by WPBF 25. That account offered a possible window into what preceded her walking into the lobby armed.
The department's main front lobby will remain closed to the public through Tuesday, September 8, while investigators process the scene, per WFTV. Port Orange, a Volusia County municipality of more than 60,000 residents bordering Daytona Beach, has historically recorded per capita violent crime rates well below statewide averages, according to the City of Port Orange.
A Department With Limited History of Lethal Force
Chief Marino was announced as the department's next chief on September 17, 2021, and was expected to start on October 25, 2021, according to Daytona Beach News. Port Orange officers were previously involved in a fatal shooting involving an armed, reportedly suicidal man who charged at an officer with a knife.
National data underscore the risks officers face in armed encounters more broadly. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data published in May 2026 showed firearms were involved in the vast majority of felonious officer line-of-duty fatalities nationwide, with agencies recording more than 90,000 officer assault incidents in 2025. That context does not resolve the specific dispute over Thursday's shooting, but it frames the split-second calculations officers say they face when a firearm is present.
For now, the investigation into Croteau's shooting remains open, with FDLE's review expected to determine the final account of what happened between the moment she left the lobby and the moment officers fired. Her condition remained stable as of the latest update from WFTV, and no timeline has been given for when the department's lobby will reopen beyond next Tuesday.
