Alex Greene, 21, allegedly crashed this vehicle after carjacking it from a woman and driving at Lakeland police Capt. Eric Harper, who shot and killed him. (Mugshot: Polk County Sheriff’s Office; screenshot: WTSP)
A man suspected in a drive-by shooting that wounded 11 men was shot dead by a police captain after a chaotic chase, in which the suspect carjacked a 64-year-old woman, authorities said.
Police did not say what role Alex Greene, 21, played in the Jan. 30 shooting when four people opened fire from a dark blue Nissan Altima, wounding 11 men. Details about that case were not disclosed as the investigation continues.
“I will tell you that we are very confident that he is in fact involved,” Lakeland Police Chief Sammy Taylor told reporters in a news conference on Monday. “To what extent, we don’t know yet. We’re still working through that. We feel like we have a pretty good handle on what was going on there.”
The wild chase went down when Lakeland police detectives, ATF, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement were conducting surveillance on a home outside Eagle Lake in connection to the mass shooting, said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.
Greene, who was sought on burglary and conspiracy charges, allegedly jumped into a white Silverado pickup truck and drove off. He was stopped when Lakeland police Capt. Eric Harper, spun the truck out using a police PIT maneuver, according to the sheriff.
Greene ran away and carjacked a woman parked near a restaurant.
Greene was shot when he drove toward the police captain, according to the sheriff.
The truck Greene was in kept going through flower beds before crashing into a building, the sheriff said. Greene died at a hospital, Judd said.
The office of State Attorney Brian Haas is investigating the fatal shooting, though Judd and Taylor both blame Greene for what happened.
Harper was “shook up” but said he was OK, according to the chief. Taylor said he had no information on the woman’s condition, but he believed she was OK.