After being wounded in a shooting on Saturday, New Smyrna Police department Cpl. He and the officers who opened fire are being praised for their bravery after running towards a man who investigators say had a gun and was shooting at them. Investigators said that man was 25-year-old Matthew Thomas of Holly Hill, who said he shot Hunnefeld in his leg. “Instead of surrendering and facing his day in court, he chose to shoot it out with the police,” said New Smyrna Beach Police Department Chief Mike Coffin. Police say Thomas was first spotted by an officer in Port Orange after he left a known drug house.