A man who authorities suspect shot at the Sabal Trail pipeline and some of its equipment in Marion County Sunday morning with a high-powered rifle was shot and killed in Citrus County following a police chase.

No law enforcement officers or pipeline contractors were injured.

The man, whose identity was not immediately released, reportedly brandished a weapon at officers after the chase, according to Capt. Dave DeCarlo of the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office.

The incident began at about 9 a.m. Sunday when the Marion County Sheriff's Office received a report of someone shooting at the pipeline and the equipment in the 12500 block of State Road 200 near Dunnellon.

Citrus County deputies then spotted the suspected shooter’s white pickup and tried to stop the vehicle. The driver did not stop, so a pursuit began. Soon, the Florida Highway Patrol joined the chase, which covered about 20 miles, DeCarlo said.

“The pursuit went through Hernando and the Florida Highway Patrol joined in the chase. It went through downtown Inverness on U.S. Highway 41 and ended near East Floral Park Drive in Florida Park,” he said.

A FHP trooper then performed a PIT maneuver that spun the truck before it crashed into an embankment on the east side of U.S. 41. The driver then got out of the truck and threatened officers with a weapon, DeCarlo said.

Officers then shot and killed the man, said DeCarlo.

The stretch of U.S. 41 where the shooting occurred was closed for several hours as law enforcement processed the scene.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement was investigating the incident, as is standard in police shootings.

DeCarlo said it was not clear Sunday afternoon if FHP troopers or sheriff’s deputies fired the fatal shot.

CCSO spokeswoman Heather Yates said, per policy and protocol, the officers involved in the shooting, who will not be identified, will be placed on administrative leave while undergoing evaluations.

The FDLE will take over the investigation, she said.

Newly elected Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast offered this statement about the incident:

“We know that the suspect was armed and extremely dangerous, and pending the examination of the evidence at the scene, we will be able to determine what other weapons he had in his possession at the time of the shooting. Fortunately, none of our Citrus County deputies, Marion County deputies or Florida Highway Patrol troopers were injured as a result of this crime.”

The pipeline is a project of Sabal Trail Transmission, a joint venture between Spectra Energy, NextEra Energy and Duke Energy.

Spectra Energy spokeswoman Andrea Grover said in an email she is aware of the events that occurred in Marion and Citrus counties Sunday morning and no Sabal Trail workers were working at the time of the incident.

“Our top priority is for the safety of the community and our employees,” Grover said in the email. “We are cooperating with law enforcement regarding the data collection of damage to the pipe and equipment.”

Construction of the Sabal Trail pipeline has spurred mass protests in recent months by those who believe the pipeline and its contribution process are harmful to the environment and the Floridian aquifer.

Earlier last week, two protesters were arrested in Marion County after crawling into the pipeline, marking a total of 26 Sabal Trail protest arrests in Florida.

The 515-mile, $3.2 billion project is planned to be in service by this summer. The pipeline is expected to bring about a billion cubic feet of natural gas to the state everyday and will branch into Citrus and Martin counties for existing power plants.

— This report was written by Carlos E. Medina, a correspondent for the Ocala Star-Banner, and Andrew Caplan, a Gainesville Sun staff writer.