SANIBEL ISLAND, Fla. -- The man who shot a Sanibel Police Officer has a history with the Sanibel Police Department.
People who live nearby said the incident, which injured one officer, is far from the ordinary on the island. "We just heard a number of shots, I thought it was fire crackers," said one resident.
Jon Webster Hay, 49, was taken into custody Monday morning, after shooting an officer and then exchanging gunfire with more responding officers overnight. Hay lives on Sand Castle Road, where detectives continued investigating, Monday afternoon. He is a mystery to his neighbors. "I knew him, I talked to him a couple of time. He lived with his parents," said a neighbor.
Fox 4 attempted to speak with Hay's parents to learn more about him, but no one answered the door at their residence.
However, according to Sanibel Police, he is no stranger to the department. "We've had trespass warnings and traffic citations, nothing like this though," said a police official.
The department said they don't have a reason to believe Hay would target one of their officers.
Although we still don't know Hay's motives, several ambush-style police shootings have been seen all over the country. People who live in Sanibel tell Fox 4 mental health may be an issue when it comes to these kinds of incidents. "Maybe people just need to be more aware that something is going on in their area with someone and maybe we can reach out to help," said another neighbor.
The officer has been treated and released from Lee Memorial Hospital and is now recovering. Hay is behind bars and is expected in court Tuesday.
