Man shot by Florence police dies from wounds

A person shot by a Florence police officer on Monday has died of wounds from the incident.

Lauderdale County Sheriff Joe Hamilton gave more details about the shooting that happened at about 10:52 a.m. in Florence on Monday. The sheriff’s office is handling the investigation of the incident.

Police Chief Ron Tyler said in a press conference that the incident happened in the backyard of a property in the 200 block of North Walnut Street.

Tyler said police received information about a person in the area with “violent felony warrants from out-of-state.”

According to Hamilton, the person, whose name has not been released, had a felony warrant for rape.

Police attempted to take the person into custody, but Tyler said the man resisted and “posed a lethal threat.”

“Our guys attempted to deescalate the situation,” he said. “We did attempt to use less lethal force in the process of apprehending him.”

According to Hamilton, the person had two knives – one in each hand – at the time of the incident. Hamilton said body cam footage exists of the encounter.

The Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office will turn over any findings from its investigation to a grand jury.

“There is no set time frame as to when the investigation will be concluded,” Hamilton said in a news release.