A Florida law enforcement officer and a suspect were injured Tuesday when they exchanged gunfire during a drug operation, officials said.
Lee Massie, the special agent in charge for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Orlando region, said undercover agents were involved in a drug deal that involved suspects at different locations before the shooting. The agents had arranged to purchase 25 pounds of methamphetamine and two suspects were taken into custody at 1701 Dyer Rd.
As agents approached two other suspects sitting in a parked vehicle at the Villa Del Sol apartment complex in Kissimmee, they were met with gunfire, the Kissimmee Police Department said.
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Florida authorities secure the scene at a Kissimmee, Fla., apartment complex where a Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent and a suspect exchanged gunfire Tuesday.
(FOX 35 Orlando)
“It appears as though the subject inside the vehicle immediately started to fire upon the law enforcement officers,” Massie said.
Two FDLE agents returned fire and one was injured as well as one of the suspects. Authorities said it was unclear if the injured agent was shot or if he was struck by broken glass.
He was expected to survive and be released from a hospital on Tuesday. The extent of his injuries was not disclosed. Four agents from the FDLE’s Tampa office were involved in Tuesday’s operation.
“They were thrust into a position today that no officer should be put in,” said Mark Brutnell, FDLE’s Tampa special agent in charge. “They were put in that position and they had to defend themselves.”
The condition of the suspected shooter was not released. The scene prompted a massive response by local authorities.
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The Kissimmee Police Department will investigate the shooting, officials said.
