FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) – The U.S. Air Force announced Friday that an airman assigned to the Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida, was shot and killed in an incident involving a sheriff’s deputy.
The U.S. Air Force said in a statement Monday that Senior Airman Roger Fortson, 23, died at his off-base residence.
Sheriff’s deputies responding to a call of a disturbance in progress “reacted in self-defense after encountering a 23-year-old man with a gun,” the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Friday.
Fortson was taken to a hospital where he died, officials said. The deputy involved was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into the incident.
AP correspondent Jennifer King reported that the young black man shot and killed by a deputy in Fort Walton Beach was an Air Force service member.
Fortson was assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron as a special mission aviator, and one of his responsibilities as a member of the squadron’s AC-130J Ghost Rider crew was to carry the gunship’s 30 mm and 105 mm guns during missions. It was to load the gun.
Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden said in a statement late Tuesday that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement will investigate the incident and the State Attorney’s Office will conduct an independent investigation. He said the sheriff’s office is “saddened” by the shooting.
The Air Force’s 1st Special Operations Wing said its priorities are to “provide casualty response services to families, support the squadron during this tragic time, and ensure resources are available to all affected.” “To do so,” he said.
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Frisaro reported from Fort Lauderdale.
