On Monday, April 5, at approximately 1:30 a.m., the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office and Quincy Police Department responded to a call involving an armed suspect who was holding a woman hostage at gunpoint.
According to the sheriff’s office, when law enforcement arrived at the scene, the suspect (who was later identified as Jermaine Walker, age 44, of Quincy), refused to comply with law enforcement’s verbal commands.
At an undetermined time during the confrontation between Walker and the attending law enforcement officers, the sheriff’s office reports that Walker turned and pointed his gun at the officers.
In response to Walker pointing his firearm towards law enforcement officers, a Gadsden County Sheriff’s deputy fired one shot from his own gun at Walker.
The sheriff’s office reported that after being shot, Walker then dropped his firearm and released the victim.
After deputies had secured the scene, Walker was transported to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital and his non-life threatening injuries were treated; once he had received treatment and cleared by medical staff, Walker was released back into the custody of the sheriff’s office and arrested on the charges of felony battery on a law enforcement officer, false imprisonment, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Walker was booked into the Gadsden County Jail at 5:40 p.m. on April 5, and denied bond.
According to the sheriff’s office, based on the nature of the incident and as the confrontation included an officer-involved shooting, Florida Department of Law Enforcement was called in to further investigate the crime and,the sheriff’s office response.
Ashley Hunter is the editor of The Havana Herald, Chattahoochee News-Herald, and Sneads Sentinel, and a member of the Gadsden County News Service.
