Holly Hill PD: Man In Clown Mask Shot & Killed During Attack

Posted

UPDATE (05-29-18): The suspect has been identified as 53-year-old Jesse L. Coggins, of North Carolina. According to Aldrich, Coggins' last known address was for an apartment in Greenville, North Carolina. 

Coggins did not have a local arrest record and it is unknown how long he had been in the area. Aldrich confirmed that no further information about the incident is planned to be released.

Earlier reporting below.

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Holly Hill, FL - A man wearing a clown mask over his face is now dead after he attacked a pizza restaurant employee.

The Holly Hill Police Department says it happened just before midnight yesterday at Little Caesars on 158 Ridgewood Avenue.

According to HHPD Chief Stephen Aldrich, officers responding to a 911 call found the suspect - identified at this time only as a 53-year-old white male - with at least one gunshot wound in the parking lot behind the restaurant.

"The suspect was immediately transported to Halifax Health Medical Center, where he subsequently died," Aldrich added.

Detectives think the suspect was shot while going after an 28-year-old employee who had just walked out of the restaurant after closing for the night.

"The suspect struck him with a wooden weapon and then pulled out a pair of scissors during the attack," Aldrich noted. "The victim responded by using his concealed firearm to fire multiple shots at the suspect."

The employee - a Holly Hill man - fired at least four or five shots, hitting the suspect several times, according to the incident report. The employee then called 911 to report what happened.

HHPD says the employee was injured during the attack and left the scene with family afterward. It isn't clear at this time how severe the employee's injuries are.

Security video of the actual attack is posted above, as is a photo of the actual mask recovered at the scene. Both are courtesy of HHPD.