Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies fatally shot a 30-year-old Army veteran Wednesday night at Sandalfoot Square near Boca Raton. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said deputies had spent more than an hour trying to resolve the encounter peacefully before the man, Joshua Senfeld, pointed a firearm in their direction and deputies opened fire. He died at the scene.
Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said Senfeld’s family contacted authorities and that he was suicidal and armed. Bradshaw said Senfeld had post-traumatic stress disorder and that deputies negotiated with him for more than 90 minutes. One deputy who is also a veteran tried to connect with him, the sheriff said.
The deputies were placed on administrative leave. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office and PBSO’s Violent Crimes Division are investigating.
WPTV spoke with Tim Miller, a former Secret Service agent and law enforcement trainer, about how officers prepare for mental health crises. Miller said Crisis Intervention Training pairs officers with mental health professionals who teach them how to communicate with people in distress. He also pointed to veteran suicide as part of the tragedy. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reported 6,407 veteran suicides in 2022, the most recent figures in its 2024 annual report.
Miller said the officers who fired will carry the encounter for the rest of their lives. The findings of the investigation, not general training principles, will determine what happened Wednesday night.
