MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. – A carjacking suspect was shot by a Brevard County deputy Monday afternoon in the middle of a busy Merritt Island intersection after fleeing authorities throughout the county, according to Sheriff Wayne Ivey.
Investigators said the suspect has been identified as 31-year-old Douglas William Dixon.
Ivey said the incident started in the Canaveral Groves area at 7:45 a.m. when a good Samaritan stopped to help what he thought was two stranded motorists. One of the two men carjacked the victim at gunpoint taking his black Dodge car, according to the sheriff.
The sheriff said it’s unclear this early in the investigation if the two men who carjacked the victim actually had car trouble or used it as a ploy to target the victim.
“These individuals had evil in their heart," Ivey said. “Certainly this guy has no conscious (or) regard for human life.”
Around 1 p.m. a deputy spotted the stolen black Dodge at a store but the driver took off, according to the sheriff. The Sheriff’s Office helicopter, Star, was used to track the car but the driver continued to elude authorities speeding through several Brevard County towns, according to the sheriff.
Ivey said the suspect was next spotted on State Road 524 and I-95, then fled south into Cocoa, Rockledge and Viera before doing a U-turn and heading back toward Cocoa Village.
As the suspect approached State Road 520 driving east in the westbound lanes into Merritt Island, Ivey said, deputies deployed two-stop sticks disabling two of the vehicle’s tires.
The armed suspect bailed out of the stolen car and attempted to carjack a second vehicle at the 7-Eleven near South Tropical Trail, according to the sheriff. Unsuccessful, because the driver resisted, the suspect tried, again, to carjack other vehicles at gunpoint near the intersection, Ivey said.
“The individual realizing that everything was closing in on him then went out into the street tried to carjack two more vehicles,” Ivey said.
An off-duty armed security saw what was happening and started to engage the suspect, Ivey said, then a deputy engaged the suspected, shooting him multiple times.
There is nothing to indicate the armed suspect ever shot at the deputy, Ivey said.
“The suspect was clearly armed there is no doubt about it," Ivey said, adding a weapon was recovered at the scene.
Jon Scott Santy, who works near the intersection where the man was shot, shared a video showing a person in handcuffs lying facedown in the road, held by deputies.
“Even after being shot multiple times the suspect continued to fight and our deputies had to try and restrain him while trying to save the individual’s life,” Ivey said.
The suspect was taken to a nearby hospital with significant injuries, Ivey said.
The sheriff declined to name the deputy involved in the shooting this early in the investigation.
“Our deputy did exactly what he needed to do to control the sit and neutralize the threat,” Ivey said, adding he is “extremely proud” of every member of his team.
The shooting marks the second Brevard County deputy-involved shooting of the year.
Investigators said Dixon is also facing charges of possession of heroin from a Feb. 20 arrest.
Anyone with information on the suspect is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at 321-633-8413.