St. Cloud police: Suspect in child’s stabbing killed

A man was shot dead Tuesday by St. Cloud police officers after witnesses reported him stabbing a 9-year-old girl multiple times in the face and body, police Chief Pete Gauntlett told reporters.

The child was driven by family members to St. Cloud Hospital and later transferred to Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando, where she is in stable condition. Gauntlett said she has stab wounds to her face and neck.

It’s unclear how she and the suspect knew each other.

The unidentified suspect was reportedly in the same house as the victim at the time of the stabbing, which the agency said occurred around 12:45 p.m.

Witnesses reported seeing the suspect running “erratically” through the neighborhood around Third Street and Georgia Avenue in St. Cloud, “covered in blood and with visible wounds,” Gauntlett said.

Neighbors reported seeing him run through several backyards and attempting to break into an RV parked behind a nearby home.

He was later gunned down by two police officers, who were placed on administrative leave while the Florida Department of

Law Enforcement investigates the incident. There were no other injuries.

After shooting the suspect, officers began lifesaving measures and requested paramedics. St. Cloud Fire Rescue responded just before 1 p.m. and pronounced him dead shortly afterward.

“It’s our understanding preliminarily that the suspect in this case was responsible for the stabbing,” Gauntlett said. “We have yet to confirm all the details. This is raw information.”