Authorities began chasing the couple, following them to nearby Pensacola Beach, before zigging and zagging though Pensacola and even going onto Interstate 10 a couple of times, Morgan said. At one point, authorities lost sight of the pair for a couple of hours, Morgan said. During that time, they held a Pensacola family hostage and eventually fled in the family’s red pickup truck, he said.

It was 12:16 a.m. Friday when the vehicle was spotted on I-10, Morgan said. Deputies followed the truck as it exited and went down a rural road.

Morgan said his deputies had a standoff with the couple for about 15 minutes before Fitzgerald got out of the truck and appeared to be heading into a home that was occupied near the small town of Milton. Gunfire erupted, and authorities say Fitzgerald was killed.