LAKE COUNTY, FL (352today.com) – Late Friday evening, Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell detailed a violent scene in Eustis that left one deputy dead and two others in the hospital.
“It was a chaotic scene from the start until the end,” said Grinnell.
How it started: Responding to a disturbance call
In an overnight news conference, the sheriff told reporters it started around 8 p.m. when they were called to a home off Brookside Drive in Eustis for a “disturbance in progress.”
“Deputies responded. While they were conducting their investigation, they were alerted to a home a couple houses down that there was a problem there,” explained Grinnell.
The sheriff said the deputies went to that home and saw the back door kicked in and could hear commotion inside.
“When the deputies entered that home, there was a lot of gunfire,” said Grinnell.
He said one deputy was struck but able to get out while the other deputy was trapped inside the home.
“Hail of gunfire”
At that point, the sheriff said multiple deputies responded and formed a rescue team.
“It’s just horrific when you have one of your own inside of a home and you can’t get to them,” said Grinnell.
When they went in, the sheriff said they were met “with a hail of gunfire” that left a third deputy injured.
“They were ambushed,” said Grinnell. “We mobilized our SWAT team knowing that we were dealing with a scene with a lot of firepower against us.”
How it ended: 3 dead, 3 injured
The sheriff said they were ultimately able to bring the situation to an end by storming the home using equipment to breach it.
“We tore the home apart to get in there so we could get that deputy out,” said Grinnell.
Grinnell confirmed that the deputy who was trapped died. He wouldn’t reveal his identity but said he was not new to the department and was a military veteran.
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He said another deputy who was struck in the shoulder was in stable condition. A third deputy was hit in the armpit, the groin and stomach area multiple times. That deputy had surgery on Friday and was in critical condition. Grinnell did not identify any of the deputies involved.
The sheriff said two people inside the home died. He did not know if they were killed by law enforcement and that would be determined as part of the investigation. A third person was injured and transported to the hospital. The sheriff could not confirm that person’s condition.
The sheriff said the SWAT team found multiple firearms in the home during the initial sweep but said there had not been a history of calls to that address except for animal enforcement units responding to some complaints.
Massive law enforcement response
The sheriff said multiple agencies responded to the scene to provide support including Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, FBI, Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms.
“When a law enforcement officer is shot – especially here in the State of Florida – you don’t have to ask for help they show up,” said Grinnell. “That’s what we do. We come together for this.”
Grinnell said the last time a Lake County deputy was killed in the line of duty was February of 2005 when Deputy Wayne Koester died while responding to a domestic violence call.
He also thanked the community for an outpouring of support.
“It’s going to be a long time before we get back to a sense of normal,” said Grinnell. “I would just ask that you keep the men and women of this agency and law enforcement in general in your prayers. They have a tough job. We lost one tonight.”