By Sofia Santana and Rachel Hatzipanagos
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
FLORIDA — An early morning shooting left a police sergeant injured and a man dead in Fort Lauderdale, authorities said Sunday.
“There is a family that is grieving and we are sensitive to that, but at the same time we are relieved that the officer was not seriously injured,” Sgt. Frank Sousa, police spokesman, said at a news conference Sunday morning.
The circumstances of the shooting just before 2 a.m. on the 1100 block of Northwest Fourth Avenue are under investigation, Sousa said.
The sergeant, who has been on the force for about seven years, suffered a finger injury in the gunfire. Doctors at Broward General Medical Center operated on the finger, which was almost severed, for two hours, Sousa said.
“He should be able to keep his finger,” Sousa said. The sergeant was recovering Sunday.
The suspect, who police have not identified, was also taken to Broward General, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy was scheduled for late Sunday.
Both the car that the suspect was believed to have been driving and the officer’s vehicle were left at the scene. The make and model of the car were not released by police, but Sousa said the department is trying to obtain a warrant to search the car.
Anyone with information regarding this shooting or who may have witnessed it is encouraged to contact the Fort Lauderdale Police Department at 954-828-5700 or Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.
Copyright 2009 South Florida Sun-Sentinel