Police Say Port St. Lucie Delivery Driver Backed Away From Man With Knife Before Firing; Aggressor Faces Felony Charges

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PORT ST. LUCIE, FL — A 25-year-old food delivery driver shot a man who followed him out of a Pollo Tropical, shoved him, and kept coming with a knife while the driver backed away, according to the Port St. Lucie Police Department. The man he shot is the one facing charges.

The department’s initial Facebook post confirmed only an active investigation at the Pollo Tropical on NW St. Lucie West Boulevard, an isolated incident with no threat to the public. The rest of the account, as reported by WPTV from police, puts the shooting at around 3:45 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19, outside the restaurant at 1365 NW St. Lucie West Boulevard.

The driver walked in to pick up a delivery order. Christopher Harris, 37, followed him inside. Police said Harris did not appear to place or pick up an order of his own. When the driver left, Harris followed him back out.

That sequence is the part I want every carrier to sit on for a second. A stranger who follows you into a business with no reason to be there, and then follows you out of it, has already told you what kind of encounter this is. Noticing it before the parking lot is the mindset piece, and it is the piece nobody can buy off a shelf.

Outside surveillance footage showed Harris pushing the driver and advancing toward him while the driver backed away, according to police. Witnesses reported seeing Harris with a knife just before the shooting.

The driver fired one round. It struck Harris in the chest. Harris went back inside the restaurant. Bystanders began providing aid and called 911.

Officers responding to reports of gunfire found Harris with a gunshot wound to the upper torso. He was airlifted to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. While he was receiving medical attention, a knife was removed from his waistband. Police said a second knife was later found in his front pocket. Two blades on one man closing distance on someone who is retreating is a threat of serious bodily harm by any reading, and the driver did not have to wait to find out which one Harris intended to use.

The driver, who was not identified, was detained at the scene while detectives investigated and recovered the firearm. Based on evidence, witness statements, and surveillance footage, detectives determined Harris was the primary aggressor in the confrontation. Florida does not require a person to retreat before using force, but the driver did anyway, and he did it on camera. That footage left detectives very little to sort out about who started this and who was trying to get away from it.

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Harris faces charges of attempted aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and felony battery. He will be booked into the St. Lucie County Jail when he is released from the hospital. The charges are allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless convicted. Police said no criminal charges are pending against the shooter at this time.

A man on a delivery run gave ground as long as he could. When the man with two knives kept coming, he fired once and stopped.

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