One deputy was killed and two injured in a shooting in Florida, the sheriff says.
The shooting occurred around 8 p.m. at a home in Eustis, about 40 miles north of Orlando, Grinnell said.
“We were called to a disturbance at a house – the first call was for a disturbance – and when we got to that scene, people on the scene told us to go to another house because that’s where the problem was,” Grinnell said at a press conference early Saturday.
Lake County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the other house and found the back door kicked in and “some disturbance” inside, the sheriff said.
“They were just met with a lot of gunfire,” Grinnell said. The first deputy to enter the home was injured and trapped inside, while another deputy was able to escape.
Other law enforcement officers responded, and as they attempted to rescue the trapped deputy, they were again met with gunfire and another deputy was hit, the sheriff said.
Two of the responding deputies suffered gunshot wounds, and the deputy who was trapped inside the home later died from his gunshot wounds, Grinnell said.
Two of the suspects were found dead inside the house and another was taken to a nearby hospital, he added.
The names of the deputies and the people in the house were not released.
Grinnell said an initial search of the home revealed “multiple firearms.”
“From long guns to handguns,” he said.
An animal control unit had been to the home previously, but “as it currently stands, there is nothing about violent crime,” the sheriff said.
He stressed that this was the first death of a deputy in the community since February 2005 and that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the case.
CNN’s Lechelle Benken contributed to this report.
After learning of the disturbance at the second house, we decided to investigate, which led us directly into the crossfire. Unfortunately, one of our deputies was injured and trapped inside.
While attempting to rescue the trapped deputy, another officer was struck by the ensuing gunfire.
