FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. – A standoff that began with a deadly assault at a Walmart on Tuesday evening ended hours later with the suspect killing himself inside a Fernandina Beach home, according to the Nassau County Sheriff's Office.
"At approximately 11:20 tonight, the individual was found deceased from a self inflicted gun shot wound in the rear bedroom of the residence. He had also set up a make shift detonation device like a bomb," said Nassau County Undersheriff George Lueders.
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Lueders said the device was propane tank that did not detonate.
Officers originally responded to a reported hit-and-run accident at the Walmart in Yulee around 5:15 p.m., but it turned out to be an assault involving a vehicle and pedestrian. Deputies said a driver ran over a pedestrian in the parking lot, then got out of the car and assaulted the pedestrian, kicking and hitting him before driving off.
Lueders said the driver and the pedestrian were acquaintances. The pedestrian was airlifted to UF Health Jacksonville where he later died. Deputies obtained surveillance video of the parking lot incident from Walmart.
"It was pretty obvious that it was intentional," Lueders said.
Three people followed the man who left the scene into a subdivision, and he got out of his car at his home and fired shots at them, Lueders said. Deputies responded to the area, and after they established a perimeter, the man fired shots at the deputies. After the third volley of shots at the deputies, they returned fire, Lueders said.
Several nearby cars were struck by stray bullets, but no one was injured.
The man barricaded himself inside a residence on Arrigo Boulevard in Fernandina Beach. Jacksonville Sheriff's Office SWAT teams responded to the scene and surrounded the house, along with Nassau County deputies.
Lueders said the man called the Sheriff's Office communications center after police arrived and told police to back off because he had hostages. No one else was in the home.
"There were several guns in the house. He was armed with a hand gun. When he left Walmart, he went in the house and armed himself with some long rifles," said Lueders.
Lueders said deputies have been called to that residence before for domestic situations.
When Tuesday night's incident occurred, Walmart closed its doors and would not let anyone in or out of the store.
One customer told News4Jax he just came in the store for one item and couldn't get back home because Arrigo Boulevard is blocked off.
"I stopped into Walmart for a couple beers, and then I got inside the store they wouldn't let us out," Willie Johnson said. "I stayed in there for 5 minutes, then I come out (to) try to go home, and they say, 'You can't go down the road, because we have a situation.'"
Neighbors were allowed back into their homes late Tuesday night.
The Sheriff's Office planned to release more details about the incident, including the suspect's name, on Wednesday morning.