Authorities have identified the man who they say shot and killed a Florida Highway Patrol trooper before being fatally shot by a police officer.
Trooper Joseph Bullock had stopped to help a disabled vehicle along Interstate 95 in Martin County Wednesday when he was fatally shot by the driver, 28-year-old Franklin Reed III of Palm Bay, authorities said Thursday.
An off-duty Riviera Beach Police officer, identified as Jemel Headings, who just happened to be passing by, responded and fatally shot Reed, officials said.
"Over the next few days, our criminal investigations detectives will continue to work closely with the State Attorney’s Office as they question witnesses, and begin the process of seeking and conducting search warrants on the vehicles involved in this homicide, including Trooper Bullock’s patrol car and Reed’s SUV," the Martin County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
Bullock, 42, was an Air Force veteran and had been with FHP for nearly 19 years.
"Joe was one of the troopers that went out every day, did his job quietly, professionally and with the utmost dedication," FHP Col. Gene Spaulding told reporters at a news conference Wednesday evening. "It is a tragic, tragic loss."
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting of Reed. Headings, who has been with the police department since April 2010, was placed on administrative leave.
