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CRIME

Standoff at Jupiter Beach Park ends in male's arrest; police received reports of shots fired

Police say they consider the man a suspect in other crimes in West Palm Beach area on Wednesday.

Julius Whigham II
Palm Beach Post

JUPITER — With the help of a hostage negotiation team, Jupiter police on Wednesday arrested a man whom other departments suspect of being involved in a string of crimes. 

Police did not immediately identify the man or provide a motive for the incidents, which they said began in the Lake Worth Beach-West Palm Beach area.

Officers responded shortly before 3 p.m. to Jupiter Beach Park after receiving reports about an armed person who had fired a weapon multiple times.

Patrol officers, a SWAT unit and the Jupiter police drone team joined hostage negotiators at the park, on the southern tip of the Jupiter Inlet.

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Investigators say there were reports of the man being involved in incidents in central Palm Beach County. 

The situation began shortly before 1:45 p.m. with a home invasion on Bradley Street in the south end of West Palm Beach, police said. Investigators said a male ran into a home brandishing a handgun and demanded money and car keys. He left the victims' blue Mercedes-Benz, according to a statement from city police.

Police said they believe the same person was involved in a carjacking 12 minutes later on Ardmore Road, southeast of downtown. In that instance, the person took a gray Mercedes-Benz. A short time later, the suspect attempted to carjack a Dodge but was unsuccessful, police said in their statement,

He then drove to the 1400 block of Alabama Avenue, just west of Woodlawn Cemetery, where he encountered a FedEx driver and forced the driver to take him to Jupiter, police said.

No injuries were reported. 

“The safety of our team members is always our top priority, and we are grateful our driver was not harmed in this incident. We are working closely with investigating authorities," a FedEx spokesperson said in a statement released Wednesday evening. 

The company did not disclose any details about the driver. 

jwhigham@pbpost.com

@JuliusWhigham