Holly MatkinJacksonville, FL – A Jacksonville police officer is fighting for his life after being shot while trying to apprehend a suspect who fled from a prior traffic stop (video below).
The series of events leading up to the shooting began on March 19, when police conducted a traffic stop on 32-year-old Tyliko Maduro for running a red light, The Florida Times Union reported.
Bodycam footage showed an officer speaking with Maduro during the stop and asking if he could conduct a quick search of the car, WJXX reported.
The officer in the video explained to the driver that officers routinely search vehicles to check for illegal weapons and guns and he assured Maduro he would be fine if he didn’t have any such items in his car.
“That’s what we’re out here looking for, man,” the officer explained in the bodycam footage. “People with hard narcotics – stuff that’s killing people.”
Maduro refused to get out of his car and ultimately started the vehicle up, WJXX reported.
“Dude, we got your name,” one of the officers told him, just before the suspect sped away.
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said the officers did not pursue the fleeing suspect because officers are generally only permitted to give chase when a violent offense has been committed, WJXX reported.
Sheriff Waters said the officers followed up on the incident on Sunday morning after they returned from their regularly-scheduled days off.
Officers headed over to Maduro’s Westside residence in the 6800-block of Ridgeview Avenue and knocked on the door, but they received no response, WJXX reported.
They were able to make contact with the suspect’s mother, who directed them to Maduro’s home and opened the front door for them, bodycam footage showed.
That’s when Maduro allegedly opened fire, hitting Jacksonville Police Officer Malik Daricaud, who was standing behind the suspect’s mother when he was shot, The Florida Times-Union reported.
The wounded officer fell backwards onto the ground and remained still as his bodycam pointed up towards the sky.
Investigators said the suspect was armed with a semiautomatic rifle, The Florida Times-Union reported.
Maduro’s mother was not hit by the gunfire, nor were any of the other officers.
Sheriff Waters said police did not return fire during the attack.
Maduro retreated into the residence after the shooting, leading to a standoff that continued throughout Sunday morning, The Florida Times-Union reported.
SWAT officers and police surrounded the home and neighbors were instructed to shelter in place for much of Sunday morning.
Maduro was ultimately found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside his home, according to police.
“He [Maduro] did fire a couple different volleys of shots from the house, eventually killing himself,” Sheriff Waters told reporters.
Officer Daricaud was rushed to the hospital in the wake of the attack, where he remains in critical condition, The Florida Times-Union reported.
Sheriff Waters said during a press conference on March 26 that Officer Daricaud is 25, married, and has children.
The sheriff said Officer Daricaud has been with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) for two years.
Sheriff Waters said the wounded hero remained hospitalized in “tenuous condition” on Sunday and that he was “fighting for his life,” The Florida Times-Union reported.
“When I was there this morning he was in a lot of pain and was saying things,” the sheriff said on Sunday. “But the way it was explained to us, he was still in a really tenuous situation and we’re just hoping he makes a full recovery.”
The motive for the shooting is unclear, The Florida Times-Union reported.
Maduro did not have any prior criminal history, according to Sheriff Waters.
“It’s hard to explain what’s in someone’s mind when they do something like that,” he told reporters.
Watch the incident unfold in the video below. Warning – Graphic Content:
Sandy Malone