A Florida deputy is hailed as a hero after he was killed while providing overtime and assistance on a day he was “not supposed to work,” authorities said.
Walton County Sheriff Mike Adkinson said that Deputy William May, 38, “came in to volunteer” on Wednesday and was responding to his last call of the day when he was involved in a shootout at a Dollar General in Mossy Head.
May responded to the store over reports of a person “causing a disturbance and needing to be trespassed from the scene” at around 2 p.m.
The deputy made contact with the suspect and had a “brief conversation” with the gunman before escorting him out of the store.
“Within 10 seconds of the suspect walking out of the store with Deputy May behind him, that suspect drew a firearm and fired multiple rounds, striking Deputy Will May,” Adkinson said.
The wounded deputy, to his “great personal credit and courage,” managed to return fire, killing the suspect.
“This short, but violent gun fight resulted in at least 18 rounds being fired, with both individuals being killed.”
May succumbed to his injuries at 7:10 p.m. on Wednesday. Adkinson said the father of two was planning to head home after responding to the Dollar General call.
“It’s just unfathomable to me that Will is not here,” Sheriff Adkinson said.
“It’s unfathomable that this happened. But there’s absolutely nothing that he could have done differently.”
