THE VILLAGES, Fla. — A man armed with a large knife was shot dead by Marion County deputies late Tuesday at a gas station in The Villages — one of two Central Florida incidents in less than 24 hours in which officers say they were forced to kill men with knifes.

According to the Marion County Sheriff's Office, two deputies stopped at a Circle K gas station off Highway 42 near Summerfield at about 10:30 p.m. when a pickup truck pulled up.

A man got out holding a knife — then went after them. That's when they took action and were forced to shoot him, investigators said.


Neither deputy, nor anyone else, was injured.

The identities of the man with the knife and the deputies have not been released.

"They were attacked simply because they were two deputies in marked patrol cars at the location, and this man chose to attack them for unknown reasons," Marion County Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Paul Bloom said. "I can tell you right now, we don't know why."

It was the second deputy involved shooting in Marion County in less than a month.

Cocoa officer opens fire

Less than 24 hours later in Cocoa, a police officer shot and killed a man who was trying to stab a woman with a knife, they said.

The incident happened at about 5:15 p.m. Wednesday in Prospect Park.

Officer Brian Fredette, who responded to the park, found a man attacking a woman. Fredette opened fire and killed him. The man was later identified as 55-year-old Renard Antonio Daniels. 

The incident got tense when a crowd of people gathered near the scene and started yelling at officers.

“We hope the community will stand behind our officers. This was a tragic event. Anytime someone loses their life, it’s a tragic event. For the community, for our officer, and for us," said Cocoa Police Chief Mike Cantaloupe.

The chief said it's unclear the relationship between Daniels and the woman. He also doesn't know if Daniels has had any run-ins with police in the past.

“Right now we’re going to work to find all of the answers. We’re working on the crime scene and all of that stuff to move forward to find out what exactly occurred tonight," Cantaloupe said.

Fredette is suspended with pay pending the outcome of the FDLE investigation.

Chief Cantaloupe said the woman who was stabbed was being treated on scene. Her condition is unclear.