Palm Bay man remains hospitalized following officer-involved shooting

A 70-year-old man shot and wounded after he pulled a gun on two rookie Palm Bay police officers during a confrontation, remains hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries, authorities reported Thursday.

Neither of the officers were injured in the incident, the first officer-involved shooting to take place in Brevard County this year.

“He will probably be released from the hospital today,” Lt. Mike Bandish, spokesman for the Palm Bay Police Department said.

The officers involved were identified as Peter Dolci and Duane Smith. Both officers - who both served in the U.S. Marine Corp. - were placed on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Dolci has been with the agency since 2016 and Smith, 2015.

The armed altercation occurred about 6 p.m. Wednesday inside the home Andrew John Pastor at the northwest corner of Minton Road and Americana Boulevard, police said. Pastor lived with his mother - believed to be in her 90s - and was struggling with health issues, according to neighbors and police.

“He brandished a firearm. Officers fired upon the subject, striking him. The subject was taken to Holmes Regional Medical Center with non-life-threatening wounds,” Bandish said, standing near the shooting scene Wednesday night.

Authorities will likely release the identities of the suspect and the officers Thursday, he said.

Bandish said he did not know whether the suspect fired his handgun. He said the officers went to the home to conduct a well-being check on the man. Officers with the Palm Bay Police Department and deputies with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office surrounded the home at 103 Americana Blvd. after the shooting.

By 9 p.m., three hours after the incident, rows of orange cones blocked Minton Road traffic from turning west near the home. Detectives and officers chatted in the driveway alongside a white Chevrolet S-10 truck, and a trio of BCSO crime scene vans were parked together inside a police-tape perimeter that stretched four houses down Americana Boulevard.

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Clayton Bennett lives across the street on Americana Boulevard. He said the suspect lives with his aging mother, and he speaks to him on the phone every couple days and helps take care of them.

“This afternoon, I just heard a commotion of police cars and ambulances. And I looked out and I saw these police cars, and they started putting up crime tape around my mailbox,” Bennett said, standing outside his front door.

Bennett said the suspect’s physical and mental health was deteriorating in recent months; he uses a cane and a walker; and he knew he had a gun.

“My wife and I have discussed this many, many times: What’s going to happen to (them)? If something happens to either one of them, who’s going to take care of the other one?” Bennett asked.

Contact Neale at 321-242-3638, rneale@floridatoday.com or follow @RickNeale1 on Twitter.