MELBOURNE, Fla. — Two police officers fatally shot an armed man who wanted to board a plane Friday morning at the Melbourne Orlando International Airport, the Melbourne Airport Police Department said.
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Shortly before 9:15 a.m., John Jay Neibuhr, 40, of Palm Bay, drove up to a security gate at Ed Foster Road and tried to enter airport property at an aircraft maintenance facility, telling workers that he wanted to board a plane, Melbourne Airport police Chief Reneè Purden said.
She said Neibuhr then left and workers reported the incident to airport police.
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Officers said they found him at Harry Sutton Road, approached his vehicle and found him with a weapon.
The officers shot Neibuhr, Purden said.
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He was taken to Holmes Regional Medical Center, where he died.
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The shooting happened on the outer perimeter of airport property, so it did not cause any flight delays or affect airport operations.
Neibuhr had a small dog in the vehicle with him at the time of the shooting, and that dog is now being cared for by Brevard County Animal Services.
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The officers, who were uninjured, were placed on paid administrative leave while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates the shooting.
The Melbourne Police Department is assisting airport police with its investigation.
Purden said that the Palm Bay Police Department on June 4 issued a security bulletin about Neibuhr because he claimed to be a sovereign citizen during recent interactions with Palm Bay police officers.
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