BY JULIUS WHIGAM II

Palm Beach Post

A naked man possessing what authorities described as superhuman-like strength died Tuesday night after he assaulted a retired police officer, bit another man on the face and was then shot during a confrontation with deputies in western Delray Beach, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said.

It was not immediately clear whether the man died from gunshot wounds or from a medical condition, Bradshaw said. Neither the names of the deceased man nor the assault victims were released late Tuesday.

The scene unfolded at about 8:30 p.m. on South Military Trail, north of Lake Ida Road and near The Colony at Delray Beach community. The man, who was not wearing any clothing, was walking north on Military Trail when, for reasons unknown, he assaulted a 66-year-old retired New York City police officer, Bradshaw said.

The retired officer was rushed to Delray Medical Center with serious injuries. The naked man, described as being about 6-foot-3, 250 pounds, then continued north on Military toward the entrance to the Colony where began chasing a man and the man’s 10-year-old son. At some point, the man began fighting with an 18-year-old man and he started biting the 18-year-old on the face, Bradshaw said.

The 18-year-old attempted to defend himself with a box cutter knife. The teen sustained serious injuries during the fight and was taken to Delray Medical. Deputies arriving on the scene tried to calm the attacker, Bradshaw said. Deputies attempted to subdue the man with a Taser, but were unsuccessful.

“He’s obviously delirious on something,” Bradshaw said. “He is a huge guy. He takes a fighting stance. They’re trying to get him on the ground. He starts charging them. The Taser did not affect him.”

At that point, a sheriff’s sergeant fired three shots, one to the torso and two the lower part of the man’s body. The man was rushed to Delray Medical Center where he died.

“We don’t know right now if he’s expired from the gunshots, or if he’s expired because of obviously he’s on some type of drugs that have made him act like this,” Bradshaw said. “There’s no way to know if those are the shots that actually killed him, or if he’s died from what they called exited delirium. He’s obviously on some type of narcotics to make him act like this.”

Late Tuesday, several sheriff’s patrol cars and incident command units lined a stretch of Military Trail near the entrance to the Colony. Colony resident Eddie Mady said he and his wife were out walking their dog Tuesday when they heard the gunfire.

“My wife thought it was fireworks,” Mady said. “Sometimes in the next door development some kids shoot off fireworks. But I knew it came from this direction and it didn’t sound like fireworks so I immediately grabbed my wife and our dog and said ‘Time to go back inside.”

Word of the shooting quickly spread through the neighborhood, Mady said.

“You never think something like this is going to happen where you live,” he said. “It’s a scary thing, but you never know. It can happen anywhere, anytime. Thankfully the police got him before he got into our development.”