Bride’s Uncle Fatally Shot By Police At Wedding After Attacking Guests, Knocking Out Cop

Winter Park, FL – Police fatally shot the bride’s uncle at a Florida wedding on Feb. 19 after he attacked multiple guests and knocked one officer unconscious, but the family is outraged and has called the shooting “unjustified.”

The incident occurred on the evening of Feb. 19 during a wedding held at the Winter Park Events Center on Morse Boulevard, according to WESH.

Winter Park police responded to the venue for a call about a wedding guest who was trying to fight the other guests.

Witnesses said that 39-year-old Daniel Patrick Knight, the uncle of the bride, had assaulted multiple people before police arrived on the scene, WFLA reported.

When officers arrived at the wedding reception and approached Knight, a Winter Park police spokesperson said he immediately attacked one of them and knocked him out.

“Our officer was unconscious and incapacitated,” the spokesperson told reporters.

Police said that was when Knight went after a second police officer, WFLA reported.

A crowd started to gather around the officers, and when Knight attacked again, the second officer shot him, WESH reported.

Knight was transported to the hospital and later died as a result of his wounds.

Both officers were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening wounds and treated, WESH reported.

“It was pandemonium,” William Hoile, who witnessed the aftermath of the shooting, said.

Hoile lives nearby and said he heard the chaos erupt at the wedding, WESH reported.

The neighbor said it went from shouting to gunshots.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is heading up the investigation into the officer-involved shooting.

The Winter Park police officer who fatally shot Knight has been placed on paid administrative leave while the probe is conducted as is protocol for all officer-involved shootings, WESH reported.

Family members said that Knight was not a drinker and worked 16-hour shifts every day to support a family.

“He was a kind gentle soul, and his only crime committed that night was drinking and having a good time with his family… This shooting was unjustified and we are working with a lawyer and the FDLE to get the entire truth out,” the bride said in a statement sent to WESH on Sunday night.