Florida official who hosted pro-gun protest against Parkland teen activists caught on video killing shoplifting suspect

A Florida commissioner who opposed gun control protests spurred on by the school shooting in Parkland was caught on video shooting and killing a suspected shoplifter at his military surplus store.

The Tampa Bay Times reported that on October 3, Lakeland Commissioner Michael Dunn shot 50-year-old Cristobal Lopez after the man allegedly stole a hatchet from Dunn's Vets Army Navy Surplus shop in the Tampa suburb.

Police released the security footage of the incident after questions arose whether the commissioner was justified in shooting Lopez.

Dunn reportedly confronted the alleged shoplifter and asked if he was going to pay for the hatchet he tried to pocket. In the surveillance video, the commissioner is seen grabbing Lopez's shirt and fires at least once before the man falls to the pavement just outside the store's door, shakes for a moment, then falls limp.

In the last three minutes of the video, Dunn is seen pacing in and out of the camera's range and does not attempt to resuscitate him. By the time police arrived, Lopez was dead.

The Tampa Bay Times noted that in July, the commissioner hosted a counter-rally to a March for Our Lives gun control protest at his store. The report also noted that this was the second time Dunn had shot someone, the first being an accidental and non-fatal incident when he was 19.

Dunn has not been charged, and Lakeland police and the Florida Attorney General's Office are reportedly investigating the shooting death of Lopez, described as a "transient" agricultural worker.