Man and Officer Involved in Lake Ella Shooting Identified

The Tallahassee Police Department Officer involved in Wednesday's shooting at Lake Ella Park was identified as Zackari Jones who has been with the department since June 2012 and the deceased as 64-year-old Garland Lee Wingo.

Tallahassee Police Department spokesman David Northway said, “At approximately 6:55 p.m. Wednesday evening, TPD received a call about a man with a weapon at Lake Ella sitting on a park bench.”

Jones, who was the first officer on the scene, found Wingo walking in the roadway on the south side of the lake. Jones went up to Wingo. Officer Northway said, the two “made contact with each other.”  At some point, Jones had to draw his weapon and fire, striking Wingo. Emergency medical services were applied but Wingo died at the scene.

TPD officers came to the scene to assist and section off the scene. The Homicide and Forensic Units collected found a  handgun on Wingo’s body.

Northway said, “The officer has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the  investigation, which is normal procedure.”

Tallahassee resident Mike Biondo was at the park taking pictures of his wife.

Biondo said, “I was 10 feet away from my car which is where the body is right now. As I was taking pictures we heard three gunshots and as I turn around there was a police officer pointing his gun over the body.”

He said, “I swallowed my heart in my stomach and my wife was traumatized and overwhelmed by it. We’re still shaken up by it. Being ten feet away is hard to swallow.”

The Biondo’s aren’t the only ones shaken up by the shooting.  

Florida State University student, Bridget Thompson was at the park with two other friends when they heard what they thought were fireworks but soon realized was gunshots.

Thompson said, “ As a college kid this is really sketchy. This is where we go to school you don’t think things like this would happen on the regular and you don’t think you would ever witness it. People come here all the time to run it seemed like a safe park. It’s just scary.”

At this time the case is still under investigation. The Tallahassee Police Department is requesting that anyone with information, that has not been interviewed by TPD officers, to please call them at (850) 891- 4200.