On Wednesday at about 6 p.m., deputies responded to a residence in the area of West Amman Street in Dunnellon, in reference to a domestic disturbance.
Upon arrival, deputies were met by a suspect who was on the property in violation of a court order.
After threatening the deputies with a firearm, the two responding deputies sought shelter outside the front door. The suspect then emerged from the residence armed with two firearms and fired his weapon toward a deputy.
At that time, both deputies returned fire, striking the suspect who was later transported to the hospital.
“Situations like this develop quickly and our deputies performed flawlessly last night protecting our community and themselves,” stated Sheriff Mike Prendergast. “Their response to a dangerous situation speaks volumes for the efforts of our rigorous training and I am glad that our deputies prevailed uninjured.”
As is common practice with any deputy involved shooting, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) did respond and is conducting an independent investigation into the incident. The two deputies involved have been placed on administrative leave which is standard procedure in cases such as these.