AVON PARK, Fla. — A man is dead after a shooting involving Highlands County Sheriff's Office deputies Tuesday night in Avon Park.
In a Facebook post, the agency said Alberto Rodriguez, 28, was allegedly threatening people with a knife around 9:48 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 1 in Avon Park before deputies arrived.
When deputies encountered Rodriguez and tried to take him into custody, he reportedly resisted and was tased, which had no effect.
The 28-year-old was able to escape the deputies' attempts to handcuff him before grabbing a weight from a nearby bench and throwing it at a deputy, according to the sheriff's office. Rodriguez was shot by one of the deputies after he grabbed a second weight.
Rodriguez was pronounced dead at the hospital less than an hour after being shot, according to deputies. The sheriff's office placed the deputy who shot the 28-year-old on administrative leave.
Rodriguez's criminal history reportedly included a 2018 arrest for battery in Florida as well as a 2022 arrest for public intoxication, carrying a concealed weapon and firing a weapon in public in Alabama, the agency said.
"This investigation is in the early stages and the information may change as the investigation unfolds," Highlands County Sheriff Paul Blackman said in a Facebook video.
The sheriff's office said the incident will be investigated by the 10th Judicial Circuit’s Officer Involved Deadly Incident Task Force.