Police Fatally Shoot Man Who Took Children, Ex-Girlfriend Hostage

PALATKA, Fla. (AP) _ A man shot and wounded his ex-girlfriend, a 10-year-old boy and a sheriff's deputy during a three-hour hostage drama Saturday that ended when he was shot to death by officers,

Saturday, June 16th 2007, 2:22 pm

By: News On 6


PALATKA, Fla. (AP) _ A man shot and wounded his ex-girlfriend, a 10-year-old boy and a sheriff's deputy during a three-hour hostage drama Saturday that ended when he was shot to death by officers, authorities said.

Lawrence Michael Floyd, 19, of Palatka, was angry over a failed relationship with his ex-girlfriend when he abducted her around midnight and held her hostage as he fled in a stolen vehicle, police said.

A sheriff's deputy spotted the suspect several miles away in the yard of a home, police said. Floyd held his ex-girlfriend as a shield and fired on the deputy, said Lt. James Griffith, a spokesman with the Palatka Police Department.

Floyd then drove to an apartment near where the abduction took place and fired on law enforcement there, hitting a sheriff's deputy and a 10-year-old boy, Griffith said.

``The officers couldn't return fire because there were children present,'' Griffith said.

The deputy was struck in his bulletproof vest and was not seriously hurt, officials said. The boy was in stable condition at a hospital.

Floyd barricaded himself inside the apartment and held hostage the ex-girlfriend and two small children, ages 1 and 6, Griffith said.

Hostage negotiators convinced the suspect to release the two children, but he remained barricaded with his ex-girlfriend in the apartment for two hours, officials said.

The man exited the apartment at 3 a.m. holding his handgun pointed at his ex-girlfriend, Griffith said.

Floyd then fired a shot, striking the woman in the upper torso, police said. Officers returned fire, fatally shooting Floyd, Griffith said.

The ex-girlfriend was in stable condition at a hospital, police said.

Palatka is about 50 miles south of Jacksonville.
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