Man attacks elderly couple, later grabs officer’s gun and shoots, police say
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DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (WESH) — A 40-year-old Daytona Beach man is facing multiple charges after he assaulted an elderly couple and later shot an officer, according to the Ormond Beach Police Department.
Police identified the suspect as Michael Hightower, 40, of Daytona Beach.
The first incident began outside Daytona College, when an elderly couple responded to a burglary alarm on Sunday night.
Police said the couple found a suspicious vehicle and items inside the building that did not belong there. While they were outside contacting dispatch, Hightower exited the building.
“I have a trespasser,” the 911 caller and victim said. “I’m the owner of the company, and I asked him not to go in the building.”
While on the phone with dispatchers, the 74-year-old woman told police the man had left the building and gotten into his vehicle.
“He is backing up in the parking lot, and now he is leaving,” she said.
After that, you can hear the vehicle accelerate, followed by the woman’s scream and what sounds like the vehicle hitting her.
Police said the couple found a suspicious vehicle and items inside the building that did not belong there. While they were outside contacting dispatch, Hightower exited the building.
Hightower then struck the woman with a vehicle before getting out and repeatedly striking and kicking both victims, police said. The couple was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
The victims were identified as a 79-year-old man and a 74-year-old woman, according to police.
Officers later located Hightower near the 300 block of Clyde Morris Boulevard. He was taken into custody and later transported to a Daytona Beach hospital for a medical evaluation.
Around 3:20 a.m. Monday, police said Hightower got into a physical altercation with an Ormond Beach officer guarding him and grabbed the officer’s firearm. This happened while the suspect was going through an MRI.
“His behavior was extremely erratic…” said Chief Jakari Young, Daytona Beach Police. “He knew that if he was going to escape that hospitals at the last opportunity to try to get away.”
The officer was shot in the leg and suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to OBPD.
“I’m not going to get into the mechanics of how a gun can be removed from a police holster, but at some point we believe that gun was removed just enough for one shot to be fired, and that one shot struck this officer in the leg,” said Young.
Police said the officer is expected to make a full recovery.
“He’s in good spirits,” said Chief Jesse Godfrey, Ormond Beach Police. “His family was with him when we last… left him. He’s in, a little bit of pain, but, we expect a full recovery.”
Hightower remains in custody, facing two counts of attempted first-degree murder, resisting an officer with violence, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, two counts of battery on a law enforcement officer and assault on a law enforcement officer.
Chief Young criticized AdventHealth’s emergency room doctor and the protocols used last night. He said he believes the situation could have had a different outcome.
“From what I’m hearing, there is a lot that could have been done differently and done better last night,” Young said.
Ormond Beach and Daytona Beach police held a joint news conference at 2 p.m. Monday.
Hightower is expected to appear before a judge tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. He is currently being held on no bond.
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