The Player's Championship Briefly Delayed Due To Nearby Shooting
The suspect made his way onto the course and reportedly made contact with PGA Tour Staff
A suspect, who made his way onto TPC Sawgrass, home of this year's Player's Championship, has been arrested Saturday morning following a fatal double shooting Friday night in Ponte Vedra, Florida, according to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. Due to the investigation and search activity in close proximity to TPC Sawgrass, tournament officials delayed operations for Saturday’s third round of The Players Championship.
According to News 4 Jax, authorities say deputies responded to multiple 911 calls reporting gunfire around 10:30 p.m. Friday at a Walgreens located at Palm Valley Road in Ponte Vedra, which is just blocks away from the golf course.
Two individuals were found shot in the parking lot and transported to local hospitals, where both later died from their injuries.
Investigators quickly identified the suspect as Christian Barrios, 32, according to St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick. Law enforcement then deployed K-9 units that tracked Barrios onto PGA Tour property at TPC Sawgrass during the search.
Authorities said Barrios allegedly made contact with PGA staff while on the property, picked up a radio, and may have handled other items before leaving the area.
The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office located the suspect's stolen BMW and attempted to stop it. Deputies used a PIT maneuver to disable the car, which ultimately crashed into a wooded area near Callahan, Florida.
Barrios was taken into custody shortly before 8 a.m. Saturday, about fifteen minutes before Saturday's first tee times.
Sheriff Hardwick said the shooting appears to stem from a domestic violence situation and noted the suspect’s prior criminal history.
"He is out of prison again on probation, committing another violent felony. Here we are dumping all these resources and families are gonna mourn two people that were shot and killed in a parking lot of Walgreens over a domestic violence situation."
Hardwick also emphasized that none of the individuals involved were residents of St. Johns County.
"This thug is not from St. John’s County, and once again, he’s out committing crimes here."
As of 11am ET, Ludvig Åberg remains atop the leaderboard with a two-shot lead over Xander Schauffele, who tees off at 2:35pm ET.
But, watch out for a high school friend of mine, Austin Smotherman, tied for tenth at 5-under.