A stretch of U.S. 19 in Crystal River shut down Saturday evening after a deputy-involved shooting near Northeast Third Avenue sent a suspect to the hospital under guard. The Citrus County Sheriff's Office said no deputies were hurt in the incident, and officials maintained there was no ongoing threat to the surrounding community.
The shooting happened in the area of Northeast Third Avenue and Highway 19, according to WFLA. A suspect was taken into custody and transported for medical treatment, per the Citrus County Chronicle. The Sheriff's Office confirmed no deputies were injured in the encounter.
Citrus County Fire Rescue
posted on Facebook Saturday night that there was an increased law enforcement presence along Highway 19 in Crystal River, directing the public to avoid the area while officials continued their work.
Full Closure Along Highway 19
A complete road closure was put in place along U.S. 19 between Northeast Second Avenue and Three Sisters Springs Trail while authorities investigated the scene, the Chronicle reported. Motorists were urged to avoid the area entirely and use alternate routes instead. The station's report noted that officials had not provided a timeline for when the roadway might reopen to traffic.
The Sheriff's Office said there was no ongoing threat to the community following the shooting. Authorities had not released the suspect's identity, the extent of the person's injuries, or details about what led to the confrontation, and the agency said additional information would be released as it became available.
Second Such Shooting in Just Over a Month
The Chronicle noted that this marked the second deputy-involved shooting in Citrus County in a little more than a month. On Oct. 4, deputies responded to a residence on East Seneca Street after a man called 911 and threatened to begin shooting people unless law enforcement arrived within 10 minutes, according to the same report.
In that earlier incident, four deputies opened fire and fatally wounded Joey Ray Dawson, per the Chronicle's account. The object investigators believed Dawson had pointed toward deputies was later identified as a radio, the outlet reported.
No further details about Saturday's shooting had been released as of this writing. The Citrus County Sheriff's Office said it would share more information as the investigation progresses.
