Deputies shoot suspect after he kills mother in Safety Harbor

SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. (FOX 13) - Pinellas County deputies fatally shot a suspect while investigating a homicide in Safety Harbor early Saturday morning.

Deputies were called to a condo on Flanders Way around 2:30 a.m. for a welfare check.

According to investigators, 35-year-old John Clark had called a friend in Illinois and told him he had just killed his mother, 64-year-old Susan Clark.

The friend called the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and when deputies arrived, Susan Clark was found fatally shot in the living room. 

Investigators used cell phone data to determine that the suspect was still in the area. Around 4:20 a.m., deputies spotted John Clark driving his mother's vehicle through the neighborhood. 

According to Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, the suspect could be seen holding a shotgun and pointing it at deputies on the passenger side. That's when three deputies opened fire. 

The Sheriff said John Clark was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he died. He was believed to have issues with drug addiction, Gualtieri said.