Florida security officer fatally shoots man attacking 2nd officer
Fort Lauderdale FL January 4 2020
Police were called to a Fort Lauderdale high rise condominium for a shooting involving a security officer.
The shooting happened just before 4 a.m. Wednesday at Playa Del Mar, 3900 Galt Ocean Drive, Detective Tracy Figone said.
The man shot by the security officer succumbed to his injuries.
Broward Medical Examiner Craig Mallak identified the dead man as Lawrence Ascione.
Court records show he was 65 and lived in Fort Lauderdale.
Police said that the man attacked a female security guard at a security station in the Playa Del Mar garage.
The man created a disturbance and began assaulting the security officer said Pio Ieraci, president of the Galt Mile Community Association. That’s when a second security officer, who was on a roving patrol, came by and opened fire, Ieraci said.
The Playa Del Mar complex is on Galt Ocean Mile, a series of high-rise condominium buildings on the beach in Fort Lauderdale. The complex, off North Ocean Boulevard between Oakland Park and Commercial boulevards, has 370 units on 29 floors, according to its website. The high-rise advertises 24-hour security and reception.
Ieraci said he did not know whether the security guard who opened fire heard the assault happening or had been on his standard rounds.
He said the security officer are employees of a security company, Elite Guard, which did not return a request for comment on Thursday.
Ieraci said about a third of the 30 buildings on the mile employ private security companies; the rest hire their staffs directly.
The buildings that hire their staffs directly don’t allow security guards to carry guns, but other buildings are free to make their own firearm rules with their private security companies, Ieraci said. He said he wasn’t familiar with the contract Playa Del Mar has with Elite.
Galt Ocean Mile buildings also pay for extra security patrols, on the beach and on the street, from Fort Lauderdale Police, Ieraci said.
Detectives said that they are still investigating the shooting at this time.
