ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A pair of St. Johns County deputies shot and killed a man in a St. Augustine South neighborhood early Wednesday morning, a director with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office told First Coast News.

The family of the man killed declined to be on camera, but they said the suspect struggled with a mental illness. 

SJSO Director Skip Cole said the sheriff’s office’s communication center received a 911 call about a suspicious person around 5:40 a.m. from a resident in the area of 1st Street and Brainard Drive.

Cole said two deputies were then dispatched to the area. When they arrived, Cole said they encountered a man in front of the 911 caller’s home with a gun.

Deputies gave verbal commands to the man, but Cole said things unfolded “very quickly.”

When the man didn’t comply, both deputies shot the man, according to Cole. The deputies then rendered aid to the man, but he ultimately died on scene.

Although the man’s identity was not released because his family has not yet been notified about his death, Cole said the man was 45 years old and was very well-known in the neighborhood.

“We’ve got at least a dozen calls in the past five months regarding his behavior in the neighborhood,” Cole said. “[He’s had] numerous encounters with law enforcement.”

Cole further told First Coast News that the two deputies involved in the incident were not injured, and that the neighborhood is safe.

When asked if the man pointed his gun at the deputies, Cole said that is being investigated.

First Coast News talked with neighbors in the community. “It’s tragic when anything like this happens,” neighbor Wayne Pholer said.  

First Coast News is working to gather more details like the identity of the suspect and more about the deputies involved.