GCSO Sheriff Schultz gives details about deputy shooter

Sheriff Bobby Schultz held a press conference Friday morning at the FDLE office in Alachua, alongside Public Information Officers Lt. Scott Tummond from Levy County and Sgt. Brett Rhodenizer from Alachua County.

"I'm mad. Gilchrist county is mad. Law enforcement is mad. The vast majority of the population of the united states of america are mad," said Sheriff Schultz about the violence against his officers.

Sheriff Schultz said 59 year old John Highnote was a loner.

"This individual is for all intents and purposes invisible prior to April 19th," said Sgt. Rhodenizer.

Investigators revealed Highnote left his home in Bell last week armed with two rifles and a handgun, stopping at a business in Newberry where he used to work.

"We do not know what his intent was in going there, but as employees approached him, as cowards like him often do he fled before being reached," said Sheriff Schultz.

Investigators are not releasing a picture of him but they describe him as a bald heavy-weight white man with a white beard.

Highnote's history with law enforcement goes back 40 years, mostly traffic violations. "These incidences were so widely spaced by time, distance, and apparent relevance, that no connections or indications of future violence like this were identified nor could they have been linked together," said Sheriff Schultz.

Rumors have spread on social media as the community tries to understand why. "There's been discussion about potential involvement in traffic crashes, there's been discussion about potential family members, to date none of that is true," said Sgt. Rhodenizer.

Sheriff Schultz said he wants everyone to move forward and heal from this tragedy. Law enforcement officers all over North Central Florida are hoping the name Highnote remains as obscure as he was.