Martin County Sheriff William Synder said they didn’t shoot, fearing the bullets would strike the victim.
Advertisement
The parents of the teen who officials say fatally stabbed a Florida couple, then bit the man in the face, are asking to be with their son “to hold his hand”, the teenager’s lawyer, Michelle Suskauer, told WPTV. But several police officers, dogs and a stun gun were needed to get Harrouff off the victim and to stop biting him.
Austin Harrouff, a Florida State University student, is now conscious but is unable to speak because he’s connected to a breathing tube, Trisha Kukuvka, a spokeswoman for the Martin County Sheriff’s Office told TIME on Wednesday.
They were eventually able to pry the man off and take him into custody but he was later hospitalised when his health deteriorated.
The suspect was initially identified by Snyder as 23-year-old Austin Michael Moore, according to the Palm Beach Post.
Deputies are working to confirm the identity of the suspect because they believe he provided a false identity to them.
John Joseph Stevens III, 59, and Michelle Karen Mishcon, 53, died after being attacked by a college student.
Harrouff’s father, an implantology and cosmetic dentist, has been disciplined four times by the State of Florida Board of Dentistry, for misdiagnosing or mistreating patients, with consequences that included fines and remedial courses.
“It absolutely could be a flakka case”.
Detectives are still waiting to hear his explanation for the deadly attack Monday night, among many people in a very shaken community.
“There has to be something that he ingested but we don’t have confirmation it was Flakka”, Kukuvna said.
Bath salts, a synthetic drug, were blamed in similar zombie-like attacks in 2012 and 2013.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said Harrouff’s blood, hair and DNA samples will be sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to be tested for drugs. Users may also exhibit super strength or appear to not feel pain. Snyder said they didn’t shoot, fearing their bullets would strike the victim.
He was carrying a pocket knife, said Mina Harrouff.
Less than an hour before the attack, Harrouff was having dinner with his parents at Duffy’s Sports Grill at 6791 W. Indiantown Road in Jupiter, according to a Jupiter police report.
Tequesta police officers searched the area for Harrouff, but they couldn’t find him.
Harrouff’s mother, Mina, called 911 after her son abruptly left the restaurant Monday. His family in a statement said “Jeff is doing as well as can be expected but he has a long healing process to go through”.
He was later charged with double homicide while in hospital. “It is not my job to give the defendant an alibi”, Snyder said.
Advertisement
“One of the first things we try to do at our #Crime scene is begin to understand the motive of the offender”, Snyder said at a #News conference on Tuesday.
