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UPDATE: The suspected shooter in the huge shootout in Panama City, FL has been identified and is now “down,” according to police accounts given to WEAR-TV.
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The Walton County Sheriff’s SWAT team had been called in to assist with a shootout in Panama City, Florida, at 23rd Street and Beck Avenue.
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The suspect has been identified by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office as Kevin Robert Holroyd, 49. He is the key suspect in a homicide investigation in Walton County, near the site of the shootout.
The Santa Rosa Beach homicide is believed to be connected to this incident in Bay County. The victim, Clinton Street, was shot multiple times earlier on Tuesday morning. The shootout occurred later on Tuesday as police pursued the suspect.
Holroyd reportedly barricaded himself in an apartment in the Briarwood Apartments on Beck Avenue. Sheriffs say the Bomb Squad breached the front door of the apartment but it had been barricaded from the inside.
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Once the subject was taken down (though police don’t specify if that means he was subdued or killed), the Bomb Squad was eventually able to enter and discovered the apartment doused in gasoline. Bomb Squad members are proceeding with caution.
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Reports of the shooting came initially as a local reporter was conducting a live interview with a town resident. The pair look in the direction of the shots before running off camera to take cover:
#BREAKING VIDEO: Shots ring out in the middle of a live interview during active situation in Panama City, Florida
Video via WMBB-TV pic.twitter.com/P3CklCaYNN
— Al Boe BREAKING NEWS (@AlBoeNEWS) May 22, 2018
WATCH LIVE: Active shooter in Panama City, Florida; at least 1 dead, multiple injured at 2 scenes https://t.co/xXzhwDKdBY pic.twitter.com/Q5uDV1iVUi
— BNO News (@BNONews) May 22, 2018
Another video provided by the same news outlet Al Boe Breaking News shows EMS and firefighters taking cover amidst gun shots which sound like a constant wave of explosions:
#BREAKING VIDEO: EMS and firefighters taking cover as gunfire rang out in the background in Panama City, Florida
Video via WESH2-TV pic.twitter.com/ouc6jvO7oF
— Al Boe BREAKING NEWS (@AlBoeNEWS) May 22, 2018
Nearby schools were under lockdown and a grocery store was evacuated
It has only been a four days since the latest mass shooting snuffed the lives of eight students and two faculty members in Santa Fe, Texas. Most Republicans are still resistant to the need for gun reform, in spite of growing public support.
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Once again, an angry white male utilized his second amendment “right to bear arms” to terrorize innocent civilians. Neither the motive nor style of weapon have been revealed yet, but the audio in the prior clips suggest something fast which packs a lot of punch.
Thankfully, it seems only one person was injured in the crossfire, and police expect that person to make a full recovery.
Still, the fact that Holroyd didn’t manage to slaughter multiple people in rapid succession should not be cause to give up the fight for common sense gun reform. This could have ended far worse than it did, all thanks to the constant propaganda spouted by the NRA to increase profits.
Deplorable.
Follow Salvatore on Twitter and Instagram.
