On Sunday, December 15, 2024, Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office Corporal Elio Diaz was tragically murdered after a seemingly routine traffic stop turned into an ambush. Just after 3 p.m., Sgt. Diaz initiated a traffic stop on a white pickup truck at a gas station parking lot after discovering that the driver had a financial responsibility suspension due to no insurance. The two men had a cordial exchange, with Sgt. Diaz spending over an hour trying to assist the driver, who was homeless, in resolving his insurance issue.
However, the encounter took a deadly turn when the driver, without warning, pulled out a rifle and opened fire, striking Sgt. Diaz multiple times, including as he lay on the ground. The man then fled the scene in the truck.
After fleeing, the shooter stopped to change the vehicle’s license plate from Florida to Georgia and donned a ballistic vest containing level-three steel plate armor, a loaded magazine, and a trauma kit.
Approximately an hour later, Corporal Nate Edwards spotted the truck at a Popeye’s Restaurant and called for backup. Deputy Andrea Short was the first to respond, and the two officers confronted the suspect. Despite repeated commands to surrender, the driver made an overt movement, prompting Deputy Short to fire a single shot, hitting the suspect in the head.
The suspect, later identified as the shooter, was airlifted to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The search of the vehicle revealed over 1,000 rounds of ammunition, multiple magazines, gas masks, two rifles, a crossbow, several knives, and psilocybin mushrooms.
Sgt. Diaz, who was posthumously promoted to Sergeant, leaves behind a legacy of compassion and dedication, having spent over an hour trying to assist a man in need before his life was tragically cut short.
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