Officer in critical condition after being shot in the head, manhunt on for suspect

Daytona Beach Police Department/Facebook

(DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.) -- A Daytona Beach, Florida, police officer is in critical condition after he was shot in the head Wednesday night, authorities said.

The officer was responding to a suspicious incident at the time, the department said.

Authorities released a 29-second clip from the officer’s body camera. The unnamed police officer can be seen approaching the suspect who is sitting in a parked car before the shooting.

“How’s it going? Do you live here?” the cop asked the suspect who immediately got out of his car and stood up.

“What’s going on? What’s going on now? Don’t do this. Why are you asking me if I live here,” the suspect said as the officer repeatedly asked him to sit back down in his car.

“Do you live here, yes or no,” the officer said before a short struggle between the suspect and the officer took place.

The last thing heard before the gunshot was the officer yelling “Stop! Stop man!”

The officer was taken to Halifax Medical Center in critical condition.

The suspect has been identified by Daytona Beach Police as 29-year-old Othal Wallace.

A $100,000 reward has been offered and a multi-agency manhunt is underway. Authorities said he may be in a gray 2016 Honda HRV with a California tag of 7TNX532.

Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young tweeted overnight, "No change in the status of my hero who was shot in the line of duty."

"He’s fighting while all of us are praying," he wrote. "The manhunt continues for the coward responsible for this."

Thursday, June 24, 2021 at 8:04AM by Jon Haworth, ABC News Permalink