On May 3, 2024, 23-year-old Senior Airman Roger Fortson was shot and killed in his Fort Walton Beach apartment by Deputy Eddie Duran of the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office after Duran responded to a reported domestic disturbance that was later determined to be false. Body camera video shows Duran knocked on Fortson’s door without initially announcing himself, then repeated the knock and said Sheriff’s office, open the door. Fortson, on a FaceTime call with his girlfriend, could not see anyone through the peephole and armed himself. When he opened the door holding a legally purchased handgun pointed downward at his side, Duran ordered him to step back and immediately fired multiple shots.

Only after shooting did Duran tell Fortson to drop the gun. An internal affairs review found the use of deadly force was not objectively reasonable and violated policy, and Duran was fired by the end of May 2024. Fortson was taken to a hospital where he died, and the shooting prompted widespread criticism from his family and others.

Did anyone in Fort Walton Beach hear or see anything around that apartment complex the night of May 3, 2024?