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A suspect linked to a double homicide in a rural area of Florida was discovered dead inside his vehicle following a pursuit on Interstate 75.
The Union County Sheriff’s Office responded to an incident in the county’s western region around 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Upon arrival, they found two female victims who had succumbed to gunshot wounds.
The suspect, identified as fleeing the scene in a black 2020 Ford F-150, was somehow associated with the deaths, although details on how this connection was made remain unclear. Authorities managed to contact him by phone, but the conversation content wasn’t disclosed.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement was called in to assist with the investigation, which officials suspect may involve domestic violence.
As the search for the suspect intensified, a deputy from the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office spotted the suspect’s vehicle. This prompted a call for backup from additional deputies and the Florida Highway Patrol to aid in the chase.
The officers attempted a traffic stop at about 5:30 p.m., but the suspect “fled at a high rate of speed, southbound on the interstate. A trooper conducted a PIT maneuver on the truck, which successfully stopped it on the west shoulder of the highway.
Officers ordered the driver out of the vehicle, but with no response “for an extended period of time,” they approached and found the driver dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The highway near Paynes Prairie was shut down for several hours during the chase and investigation, WCJB reported.
The investigation is still going on, and police said they would release the suspect’s name later.