June 25, 2011
Gary Davidson
Public Information Officer

FATAL SHOOTING OF PIERSON MAN UNDER INVESTIGATION 

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office has launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding a shooting in Pierson Saturday morning that killed a 38-year-old man. The Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to 900 Buckles Road after receiving a frantic 911 call at 8:55 a.m. reporting a shooting. The caller said she had just woken up and wasn’t sure what had happened. Asked by a Sheriff’s Office dispatcher whether the victim had shot himself, the caller replied: “No, I don’t think….Hurry up. Please just send me an ambulance.” 

Rather than wait for responding emergency units, an acquaintance of the victim loaded the man up into a car and started driving towards U.S. Highway 17. At about 9:06 a.m., deputies along with EVAC ambulance paramedics located the car and started medical treatment on the victim. Initially, the victim was reported to be alert, conscious, standing up and moving around. However, due to the seriousness of the injury, a Sheriff’s Office helicopter airlifted the victim to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach. The victim’s condition took a turn for the worse and he died at the hospital at 11:02 a.m. 

Deputies were initially told that the victim had accidentally shot himself. However, the Sheriff’s Office’s Major Case Unit is continuing to investigate the circumstances of the death. The Sheriff’s Office is withholding the name of the victim until family members are notified.