FL Deputy, Suspect Killed In Gunfight At Dollar General

DEFUNIAK SPRINGS, FL — A Walton County deputy and a suspect are dead following a shootout Wednesday at a Dollar General store in Mossy Head near Lancelot Road, authorities said Wednesday.

Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson said the shooting, happening around 2 p.m., claimed the life of deputy William May.

"Will fought the entire time, from returning fire on scene to fighting for his own life," Adkinson said.

May, who was not scheduled to work Wednesday and was on duty on a volunteer basis, was on his way home when he responded to a call for a disturbance, Adkinson said at a news conference.

When he arrived, the sheriff said May encountered the unnamed suspect at the store. Adkinson added there were no plans to arrest the suspect, but rather the suspect was going to be asked to leave the property.

After about a 15-second conversation between May and the suspect, Adkinson said the suspect left the store with May following behind him.

Within 10 seconds of the suspect leaving the store, Adkinson said the suspect fired several shots at May, hitting the deputy. May then drew his gun and returned fire.

"This short but violent gunfight resulted in at least 18 rounds being fired," Adkinson said.

The suspect died at the scene, Adkinson said. May radioed for assistance, and though first responders attempted life-saving measures, Adkinson said he died from his injuries at 7:10 p.m. while at North Okaloosa Medical Center.

Though May was wearing a bulletproof vest, which stopped multiple rounds, Adkinson said one of the bullets went underneath the vest and caused May's death. Tactically, Adkinson said May did not do anything incorrectly.

Adkinson declined to publicly identify the suspect but said he had a concealed carry permit and no violent background on record. The sheriff said he could not make sense of the deadly shooting.

"(May) chose a lifetime of service," Adkinson said. "I am struggling on behalf of this organization to make sense of this."

He added May was a husband and father to two teenagers. A second-generation worker of Walton County first responding, May had been with the sheriff's office since around 2014, when he first worked as a communications officer.

In 2019, May became a deputy before becoming a field training officer in 2023, Adkinson said.

May's father was a retired assistant fire chief, and his mother was a former dispatcher, the sheriff added.

"It's unfathomable to me that Will is not here," Adkinson said. "It's unfathomable to me that this happened."