Victor

ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — An ongoing investigation is being conducted into the shooting death of a Louisiana man on Friday by a Baldwin County Sheriff’s Deputy on Interstate 10 near the Alabama-Florida border.

According to a BCSO release, Jonathan David Victor, 35, of Metairie, Louisiana, was shot after deputies were called because he was reportedly fighting with medical responders who were attempting to treat him on scene. The incident occurred at around 5 p.m. Friday between the 59- and 60-mile markers east bound on I-10 between the Wilcox exit and the Florida border.

Baldwin County Sheriff Huey “Hoss” Mack Jr. said in a press conference on Monday that because of an ongoing investigation, the identity of the officer involved in the shooting will not yet be released.

“He is a 13-year veteran of the department, and that’s all I can say at this time,” Mack said. “As per department policy, he has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.”

Several deputies responded to the single-vehicle accident, Mack said, but only one weapon was discharged, a department-issued AR .223 rifle.

“We were told that several medical response units were on the scene, including one ambulance and one fire department unit,” Mack said, “and that they were dealing with a single individual who was non-compliant.”

When deputies arrived on the scene, Mack said, they found Victor in his vehicle, covered in blood, with emergency responders attempting to coax him from the vehicle. After several attempts, Victor exited the vehicle on the passenger side because it appeared that, due to the nature of the accident, he was unable to exit from the driver’s side.

“As far as we know, Victor was the driver of the vehicle, and he was the only occupant of the vehicle at the time of the accident,” Mack said. “He appeared to have something in his hand and despite numerous calls for him to drop what was in his hand and get on the ground, he continued to approach the deputy.”

According to forensic evidence, Mack said, Victor was struck twice, once in the abdomen and once in the leg. Victor was flown to USA Medical Center in Mobile where he underwent emergency surgery, but he was pronounced dead at around 1 a.m. Saturday morning.

“We want to express our deepest sympathy to Victor’s family in their loss,” Mack said.

Mack confirmed to reporters on Monday that no gun was found at the scene, in Victor’s vehicle or on Victor.

“A witness at the scene said it was a weapon of some kind,” he said, “but that is not something we can confirm at this time.”

Two items were recovered from Victor at the scene, Mack said, but he would not comment as to the nature of those items.

A three-prong investigation is being conducted into the case, Mack said, including an internal investigation by the Sheriff’s Department.

“As per department policy, we are conducting our own investigation into the case. Our investigation can only speak to the actions of our officer,” Mack said. “Our investigation is to determine whether or not our officer acted in accordance with his training and based on what we’ve been able to determine so far, it appears that he did. Interviews are being conducted by another agency and evidence collected is being reviewed by another agency.”

Any information and conclusions presented at Monday’s press conference are preliminary, Mack said.

Officers from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency were also on scene conducting an investigation into the crash and an overall investigation is being conducted by the Baldwin County Major Crimes Unit.

There are two videos from outside sources, as well as dash camera and body camera videos that have all been turned over as evidence in the investigation, Mack said. Once all the evidence has been reviewed, it is also department policy that the evidence will then be heard before the Baldwin County Grand Jury.

“At this point it will be days before all of the evidence is reviewed,” he said. “A press conference with the Major Crimes Unit will be conducted at a future date.”