Police identify man shot while pointing gun at officer, security guard at Cocoa apartment complex

COCOA, Fla. — A 51-year-old man was injured Thursday afternoon in a shooting at a Cocoa apartment complex, the Cocoa Police Department said.

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Investigators said a security guard requested a police officer to respond to the Village Green apartments on Dixon Boulevard near Clearlake Road shortly after 3 p.m. to assist a tow-truck driver preparing to tow a vehicle.

Cocoa police chief Evander Collier said the security guard asked for the assistance because there had been confrontations with a resident in the past.

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“Evidentially -- from what we’ve been told -- it must have a problem with the person who owns that vehicle. That’s why they wanted the officer to come by to assist while that vehicle is being towed,” Collier said.

Investigators said that while the tow truck driver was getting ready to tow the vehicle, Dexter Bray came out of a nearby apartment armed with a gun.

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Police said Bray then pointed the gun at the officer and armed security officer before he was shot.

Bray was flown to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne in critical condition, but police said Friday that he is now in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.

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Man shot after pointing gun at officer, security guard & tow truck driver at Cocoa apartment complex A man was critically injured Thursday afternoon in a shooting at a Cocoa apartment complex, the Cocoa Police Department said. (WFTV)

No other people were injured in the shooting.

Nearby Cocoa High School delayed the release of its students as a precaution while police investigated the shooting.

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Police said Bray has an active felony warrant for aggravated assault with a firearm and will face additional charges relating to Thursday’s incident.

They said the officer involved in the shooting has been placed on paid administrative leave while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates the incident.

See a map of the scene below:

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