23-Year-Old Injured in Police Shooting After Fleeing Mental Health Clinic Armed

A 23-year-old man who fled a mental health clinic in Florida was critically wounded in a police shooting after officers encountered him armed with pepper spray and a knife.

The man, whose name was not immediately released publicly, had been taken to The Vines Hospital by family members to be admitted just before 12:30 p.m. when he began "acting erratic" and ran from the clinic, the Ocala Police Department said.

Officers found the man about 10 minutes later near the 5500 block of SW 27th Avenue.

When officers approached the 23-year-old, he was determined to be "an immediate threat," prompting officers to use deadly force and shoot the man, according to the department.

A witness, Preston Bare, told WESH-TV that he saw the encounter between the man and police.

"The cop was holding the gun, and there was another cop holding the Taser on him, and he was patting on his chest, pleading with the man to please drop whatever he had in his hands," Bare told the station. "Then he got tased, and he started to immediately run toward the cop that had his gun drawn on him, spraying him while he's running with the knife in his hand, and then he got shot."

No officers were injured during the incident.

The man was rushed to a local hospital and underwent surgery. Police said he is in serious condition and has further medical procedures pending.

No officers were harmed during the incident.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is assisting in the investigation, as is standard protocol.

The shooting is the latest in a series of recent incidents involving police shootings of people with mental illness.

In May, a 26-year-old man with schizophrenia was shot and killed by police in San Francisco after he allegedly stabbed a woman and threatened officers.

In April, a 24-year-old man with bipolar disorder was shot and killed by police in Oklahoma City after he allegedly charged at officers with a knife.

And in March, a 22-year-old man with autism was shot and killed by police in Chicago after he allegedly threatened officers with a knife.

Mental health advocates have called for reforms to police training and procedures to reduce the number of shootings of people with mental illness.

They say that officers need to be better trained to recognize and respond to people with mental illness, and that they should use less-lethal force whenever possible.

The Ocala Police Department said that it is investigating the shooting and that it will release more information as it becomes available.