The Sheriff’s Office said Jerome Curry was taken into protective custody 12 days before the fatal shooting following statements about self-harm.
PALM COAST, Fla. — The man authorities say fatally shot another man at a Palm Coast home had been taken into protective custody for a mental health evaluation less than two weeks earlier after making statements about self-harm, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies identified the suspected shooter as Jerome Curry, 34, and the man who was killed as Andrew Yoder, 28. Both were Palm Coast residents. The Sheriff’s Office said Curry shot Yoder at a home on Bronson Lane early Aug. 25 and then died by suicide as deputies arrived. Investigators have classified the case as an apparent murder-suicide.
The Sheriff’s Office said deputies took Curry into protected custody under Florida’s Baker Act on Aug. 13 after he made statements about self-harm connected to a relationship breakup that occurred in April. Curry was transported to a facility for a mental health evaluation. Authorities have not released details of that evaluation or said how long he remained at the facility.
The disclosure provides background on deputies’ recent contact with Curry but does not establish why the shooting occurred. Investigators have not announced a formal motive. The Sheriff’s Office said Yoder was a friend of Curry’s former girlfriend, but authorities have not released a full account of the relationships among the people who were at the house.
Investigators said deputies had several other encounters with Curry dating to 2023. Most involved civil or verbal disputes and did not lead to criminal charges, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The agency said Curry had no criminal history.
Deputies also had contact connected to the Bronson Lane home only hours before the fatal shooting. At about 11:43 p.m., they were called about a reported trespassing incident after Curry allegedly entered the house without permission. Investigators said he left in a vehicle before deputies arrived. Deputies searched nearby areas, surrounding neighborhoods and Curry’s apartment but did not find him.
Curry later returned to the residence, according to investigators. Shortly after 2 a.m., a woman called 911 and said an armed man had entered the home and was shooting. The woman and a child escaped to another nearby residence while the gunman remained inside.
The Sheriff’s Office said Curry came out of the house as responding deputies approached and shot himself within seconds. Deputies secured the firearm and entered the home, where they found Yoder. Yoder was pronounced dead at the scene. Curry was transported to a hospital and later pronounced dead.
Sheriff Rick Staly said the case followed other recent domestic incidents investigated by his agency and stressed that anger or a mental health crisis does not justify violence. Authorities have not said that Curry’s earlier mental health crisis caused the shooting, and no detailed findings from his prior evaluation have been made public.
The investigation remains focused on the sequence of events at the Bronson Lane home, including Curry’s earlier visit, his return and the fatal shooting. The Sheriff’s Office has said there is no continuing threat to the public, while significant details about the circumstances leading directly to Yoder’s death remain undisclosed.
Author note: Last updated August 27, 2026.