ELDERLY MAN SHOT DEAD BY POLICE IN DRUG STING

JACKSONVILLE - An elderly man was shot and killed in an exchange of
gunfire with undercover narcotics detectives during a neighborhood
drug sweep, authorities said.

Police declined to release the name of the dead man Sunday. Neighbors
described him as an elderly man who may have mistaken the officers for
drug dealers.

"He didn't do nothing wrong, but they shot him," neighbor Vanessa
Johnson said. "He was just trying to protect his yard, and now he's
dead."

The undercover detectives were posing as drug dealers in a reverse
sting operation when the man confronted them with a gun, Jacksonville
Sheriff's Office Chief of Investigations Dwain Senterfitt said. It is
unclear who fired first. The man was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

"You don't expect people to come point a gun at you," Senterfitt said.
"At that point, it became about officer safety."