A man accused of shooting a police officer from Daytona Beach, Florida, was arrested near Atlanta after a dayslong manhunt.
Othal Wallace was taken into custody Saturday after shooting Officer Jason Raynor in the head Wednesday, according to police. He was apprehended in a wooded area affiliated with a black nationalist paramilitary organization called the “Not F***ing Around Coalition.”
THREE DEAD IN COLORADO SHOOTING, INCLUDING RESPONDING OFFICER AND SUSPECT
Police located Wallace in a treehouse, and he had multiple flash-bang grenades, rifle plates, body armor, four guns, and several boxes of ammunition, said Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young during a press conference Saturday. There were weapons found inside the main residence as well.
Upon Wallace’s arrest, he told officers, “You guys know who I am. You know what I’m capable of, and it could have been a lot worse,” Young said.
The 26-year-old officer who was shot is showing “very positive signs of improvement,” the police chief said.
“Right now, they feel comfortable moving forward with more testing because they’ve determined that he’s now strong enough to endure more testing. So, as of right now, his outlook is, it is improving. It’s a positive one, but we’re just going to continue to pray that he continues to heal,” he said.
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There has been a rise in the number of officers who have died in the line of duty during the first half of 2021.
A review by the Washington Examiner found that the number of police officers intentionally rammed by vehicles, killed by gunfire, or stabbed to death in 2021 is 40% higher than the number who died during the same time period in 2020.
