First he killed his mother. Then Florida man turned his gun on deputies, cops say

A 38-year-old Pinellas County man is dead after deputies say he killed his own mother and then turned the weapon on law enforcement.

According to a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office report, deputies responded to a residence in Safety Harbor at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday regarding a welfare check on 63-year-old Susan Clark. The sheriff’s office reports receiving a call from John Clark’s friend that Clark had shot his mother.

Deputies arrived to find Susan Clark dead from a gunshot wound inside the home.

“She had been shot with a shotgun,” Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told reporters at a press conference later Saturday morning.

No one else was inside the home at the time, but deputies began looking for Clark and spotted him near the residence driving his mother’s vehicle. Deputies attempted to stop him, but Clark refused to stop and eventually drove back toward the crime scene where he encountered multiple deputies and detectives ordering him to stop the vehicle.

Deputies say Clark was driving slowly through the crime scene area and as deputies approached, Clark raised a shotgun from his lap and pointed it at the law enforcement officers, the report states.

“In fear for their safety, (three deputies) fired multiple rounds from their agency-issued handguns striking and incapacitating Clark,” the reports states. “Deputies pulled Clark out of the Volkswagen and rendered medical aid until paramedics arrived on the scene.”

Clark was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead at 5:10 a.m. Saturday. No deputies were injured.

The three deputies have been placed on administrative leave, per department policies.

Gualtieri said Clark did not have a criminal history, but he did have an addiction issue and that his mother had been pushing for him to seek treatment.

“This is unfortunately, something we see play out time and time again,” Gualtieri said. “Sometimes when they get pushed into seeking help, something happens and they snap. ... I’m not saying that’s what it was, but it looks apparent, but this is still very preliminary.”

This story was originally published August 5, 2019 at 8:46 AM.