KEYSTONE HEIGHTS, Fla. – The Clay County Sheriff’s Office has identified the man who was fatally shot by a deputy during a roadside encounter following a request for a wellness check as 35-year-old Mathew Dupree.
The shooting occurred Sept. 22 after Clay Behavioral Health Center contacted the sheriff’s office at about 1:42 p.m. requesting a wellness check on Dupree.
According to the sheriff’s office, behavioral health staff reported Dupree was upset about being taken off one of his medications and had made statements about taking his own life. Authorities were also told he had previously experienced suicidal crises and had been taken into custody under Florida’s Baker Act.
Deputies were sent to a residence in the Keystone Heights area but did not find Dupree there.
A deputy familiar with Dupree later spotted a vehicle belonging to one of his family members and conducted a traffic stop on State Road 21 near Gas Line Road. Dupree was sitting in the front passenger seat, according to CCSO.
The sheriff’s office said Dupree acknowledged making the statements that prompted the wellness check. He also told the deputy he owned a firearm but had left it at his residence.
The deputy continued speaking with Dupree in an effort to de-escalate the situation, according to the sheriff’s office.
When the deputy attempted to check Dupree for weapons, however, CCSO said Dupree pulled away and produced a handgun from his pocket.
A standoff followed along the side of the road. The sheriff’s office said the deputy continued talking with Dupree and repeatedly asked and ordered him to drop the handgun.
Dupree did not put down the weapon and was ultimately shot by the deputy, according to the agency’s account.
Additional deputies arrived and disarmed Dupree, who the sheriff’s office said was still holding the firearm. Clay County Fire Rescue attempted life-saving measures, but Dupree was pronounced dead at the scene.
The sheriff’s office did not specify in its account what Dupree was doing with the handgun immediately before the deputy fired or how many shots the deputy fired.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the State Attorney’s Office are independently investigating the shooting, in accordance with Clay County Sheriff’s Office policy for deputy-involved shootings.