Man Arrested For Allegedly Throwing Molotov Cocktails At House, Leading Deputies On A Chase

A Florida man was arrested on multiple charges after he allegedly tried to start a house fire, and led the deputies on a case, which resulted in the closure of Interstate 4 on Sunday for a brief period.

The accused, identified as 30-year-old Luke Neely, was shot thrice by the police during the chase.

The cops were called to the north Lakeland neighborhood in Polk County at around 8.11 a.m. ET after receiving reports about a man throwing Molotov cocktails at a house in an attempt to start a fire.

Upon arrival, the deputies found Neely getting into a pickup van in a bid to flee the scene, WTSP-TV reported, citing a press release by the Polk County Sheriff's department.

In a tweet, the Florida Department of Highway Safety declared that a few westbound lanes on Interstate 4 in Hillsborough County would remain closed until further notice due to the chase that originated out of Polk County.

Motorists were asked to avoid the routes as several hours of delay was expected. The closure remained in effect until early afternoon Sunday, according to Click Orlando.

During the chase, the authorities administered a precision immobilization technique on the truck, which wasn't successful. Neely then continued to drive onto Interstate 4. The police officers were able to finally end the chase in the area between the westbound on-ramp and Interstate 4 from Branch Forbes Road in Hillsborough County.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said three Polk County deputies fired shots at Neely, who was hit twice in the right leg and once in the groin.

"We've changed the looks of his groin forever if you know what I mean," Judd later said at a press conference Monday.

The police then took Neely to a local hospital for treatment. Judd, in his press conference, said one officer was injured during the incident.

"We are in the early stages of this investigation. We thank the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for independently investigating this use of force and we appreciate the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office assistance with the scene investigation. One of our deputies sustained a wrist injury, but other than that, the only person who was injured is the arsonist who fled from our deputies and threatened them. For this I am very thankful," Judd said.

The reason behind the attempted arson was not clear.