A Florida sheriff’s deputy is dead and two more were left wounded after they were ambushed while responding to reports of a disturbance at a home in a suburb north of Orlando.
The violence began Friday just before 8 p.m. in Eustis, Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell told reporters during a late-night news conference.
When the first two deputies arrived on scene, they were directed to a residence where they found the back door kicked in and could hear a disturbance coming from inside.
“When the deputies entered the home, there was a lot of shooting where one of the deputies was struck,” the sheriff said. “The back-up assistant who was there with him was able to withdraw from the home.”
Grinnell added that first deputy was left trapped, prompting additional officers to respond in an attempt to rescue him.
“They were just met by a hail of bullets, lots of shooting,” he said, noting that the first deputy died of his wounds.
A second deputy was shot in the armpit and abdomen and is in critical condition, while a third deputy was hit in the shoulder and is currently listed in stable condition.
Grinnell said two suspects in the home were later found dead by a SWAT team and a third person was taken to the hospital. He did not specify how the couple died or how the other person was injured.
Neither the deputies involved nor the suspects have been identified.
Grinnell said there was no history of domestic violence crimes and nothing to indicate deputies would be in serious danger.
“They were ambushed” he said.