UPDATE: Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers has died after being shot twice during a traffic stop Friday morning.
Sheriff Bill Leeper confirmed the news Sunday afternoon, FirstCoastNews reported.
“It is with great sadness that I announce Deputy Josh Moyers has passed away this afternoon, September 26, 2021 at 2:19 PM at UF health in Jacksonville. Please keep Josh’s family and fiancé in your thoughts and prayers as we navigate this terrible tragedy,” Leeper said.
NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. — A Nassau County deputy was critically wounded after he was shot during a traffic stop Friday. He continued fighting for his life Saturday – with the outlook seeming grim — authorities said, as the manhunt for his attacker continues.
The 2:30 a.m. shooting occurred in Callahan in Nassau County, about 12 miles from Jacksonville, and left Moyers clinging to life.
The deputy was shot in the face, below his right eye, then in the back after collapsing to the ground, the Times-Union reported.
“Please pray for Deputy Josh Moyers,” the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office tweeted soon after the shooting on Friday.
By Saturday, authorities were losing hope that Moyers would pull through.
“Unfortunately, Deputy Moyers is not going to survive,” Sheriff Bill Leeper predicted, according to the news outlet.
Leeper said Moyers had been planning a wedding with his fiancée prior to being shot, Fox reported.
The suspect, identified as Patrick McDowell, 35, stands 5 feet, 10 inches tall and is considered by authorities to be “armed and dangerous.”
“We now have a murderer on the loose in our community,” Leeper said.
“The Florida Sheriff’s Association and the Florida Deputy Association are putting up $5000 each for an award for information,” according to authorities. “This is in addition to the Crime Stopper award which is also $5000 … totaling $15000 for a reward for information.”
A person in the vehicle with McDowell at the time of the shooting has been cooperative with authorities after remaining at the site of the shooting, according to Jacksonville’s WJXT-TV.
There are more than 300 individuals from multiple law enforcement agencies engaged in the manhunt. They are focused on a five square mile area encompassing more than 3,000 acres.
The agencies have deployed helicopters, drones, armored personnel carriers and all-terrain vehicles in the search, Leeper said,
“This guy is dangerous. If you’re in a home and he breaks into your home and you have a gun, blow him out the door cause he’s like a rabid animal. He will kill you with his mindset. What he did to that deputy, was uncalled for, unnecessary and he needs to pay for it,” Leeper said.
