PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — As the days go by, there are still unanswered questions about the death of Sgt. Elio Diaz. Why did the suspect shoot and kill him? How much did mental health play a role in the suspect's state of mind?
A law enforcement expert is weighing in on what detectives are likely doing to figure out those answers.
This all started as a traffic stop at the Chevron gas station in Charlotte Harbor.
"Traffic stop is routine, but it's also dangerous," said Dave Thomas, a forensic studies professor at FGCU.
WATCH TO SEE WHAT IS NEXT IN THE INVESTIGATION:
It's not clear how long the stop was or what it was for, but we do know the driver, Andrew Mostyn Jr., opened fire on Diaz, killing him.
Thomas says in investigations like this, there are several things deputies will look at.
"The next steps are really to just tear his [Mostyn's] life apart and piece it back together and see how we ended up with that shooting," he explained.
In a Facebook post the day after the shooting, Mostyn's mother said he suffered from mental health issues, though the extent is not known.
"That's central to this investigation," Thomas said. "How bad was it, how did he get access to a firearm, did he legally purchase — all those things will become relative. Was there an incident that may have created some psychotic break, which put him in this position where he wanted to arm himself and shoot law enforcement?"
Thomas says investigators will also likely look at Mostyn's social media, his cell phone and talk to his family.
"You just got to give them time to get those pieces put together," he said.
They searched for Mostyn and found his truck at a Popeye's only 20 minutes away where deputies say he took Diaz's life.
It was there where Sheriff Bill Prummell says Mostyn grabbed his rifle, and that's where deputies shot him, striking him in the head and killing him.
But without being able to talk to Mostyn, how will detectives determine a motive?
"Based on all the information that they have is how they summarize that, then they come up with that information saying this is what we believe, and this is why we believe this transpired," he said.
At the end of the day though, a life is gone. The life of a man people described as genuine, kind and had a love for Cuban coffee. His personality was big and he enjoyed making people laugh.
It's that kind of loss Thomas says will be a tough road to get over.
"When there's a loss of life like this, you look at how senseless it is and you start to wonder why this had to happen," he said.
As we wait for answers, the community continues to come out in droves, placing flowers at two memorial sites — one at the sheriff's office and the other on the outskirts of the gas station where Diaz lost his life.
