Florida officer critically wounded after being shot by man who fled traffic stop: sheriff

A man who sped away from a traffic stop in Jacksonville, Florida last week shot and critically wounded a sheriff’s officer before killing himself following a standoff at his home, officials said.

The shooting early Sunday morning left Officer Malik Daricaud, 25, in "tenuous condition" and "fighting for his life," Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said during a news conference.

When no one answered the door at Tyliko Maduro’s home, the officers contacted the 32-year-old man’s mother, Waters said, describing the body cam footage. She agreed to come over, and approached the front door with one officer, while another was stationed around the corner of the house and Daricaud stayed a few feet back.

She knocked a couple of times and yelled, "hello," before unlocking and pushing open the door. A dog came out the door and a volley of shots rang out.

Daricaud fell backwards and collapsed onto the ground, Waters said.

The other officers and Maduro’s mother were not injured, the Florida Times-Union reported.

The sheriff said Maduro was armed with a semiautomatic rifle.

No shots were fired by the officers, he said.

Maduro had been stopped on March 19 for running a red light and fled from officers. They did not pursue him because he was only stopped for the traffic offense, the sheriff said.

The officers went to the home on Sunday to follow up.

"I believe all they were going to do was ask some questions. They weren’t going to kick his door down. There was no probable cause for that," Waters said.

Neither officer had their guns drawn, but the other officer had his Taser out as a precaution, the sheriff said.

A SWAT team came to the home and residents were asked to shelter in place for much of the morning.

Maduro didn’t have any convictions on his record or any other indications of potential violence, Waters said.

"It’s hard to explain what’s in someone’s mind when they do something like that," Waters said.

Waters said he went to the hospital and was able to speak with Daricaud, who is married and has young children.

"When I was there this morning he was in a lot of pain ... the way it was explained to us, he was still in a really tenuous situation and we’re just hoping he makes a full recovery," Waters said.