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2 Sheriff’s Deputies Are Killed in North Florida 2 Sheriff’s Deputies Are Killed While Eating at North Florida Restaurant
(about 2 hours later)
Two sheriff’s deputies were fatally shot while they were in a restaurant in North Florida on Thursday afternoon, the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office said. Two sheriff’s deputies in North Florida are dead after a gunman walked up to the window of a Chinese restaurant where they were eating on Thursday afternoon and shot them, the authorities said.
The shooting occurred in Trenton, Fla., the seat of rural Gilchrist County, about 30 miles west of Gainesville. The deputies were killed about 3 p.m. when a suspect, whom the police have not publicly identified, shot them through the window of a Chinese restaurant, Ace China. When additional deputies responded to the scene, they found the suspect dead as well, the sheriff’s office said in a statement. The shooting occurred around 3 p.m. in Trenton, Fla., about 30 miles west of Gainesville. When additional deputies responded to the restaurant, Ace China, they found both the deputies dead inside it, and the suspect dead outside, according to the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office.
“At this point, it remains an active criminal investigation with no apparent motive or indications as to why this tragedy occurred,” the statement said. The office said that the suspect’s motive was unclear, and Sheriff Bobby Schultz declined at a Thursday night news conference to identify him or to confirm whether he had killed himself. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating.
The sheriff’s offices in neighboring Alachua and Levy Counties were assisting the investigation, as were the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Office of the State Attorney. Sheriff Schultz identified the victims as Sgt. Noel Ramirez, 29, and Deputy Taylor Lindsey, 25. Sergeant Ramirez was married with children (the sheriff did not say how many), and Deputy Lindsey was unmarried but had a girlfriend.
“My heart breaks with the tragic news of two Gilchrist County deputies that were senselessly killed today while in the line of duty,” the Florida attorney general, Pam Bondi, said in a statement. “The daily risk that law enforcement officers take to protect our communities is overwhelming. My deepest condolences and prayers are with their families as they mourn the devastating loss of their loved ones.” “I made contact with the families, and as you’d expect, you can never be prepared for something like this,” Sheriff Schultz said. “But make no mistake, they’re proud of their families. They understood when their loved ones pinned on the badge and they strapped on the gun that this was a possibility.”
Trenton, the seat of rural Gilchrist County, is a small town of around 2,000 residents, but the killing of the deputies drew the attention and condolences of national officials.
“My thoughts, prayers and condolences are with the families, friends and colleagues of the two @GCSOFlorida deputies (HEROES) who lost their lives in the line of duty today,” President Trump tweeted Thursday evening.
The Florida attorney general, Pam Bondi, expressed her “deepest condolences and prayers” and said in a statement, “The daily risk that law enforcement officers take to protect our communities is overwhelming.”
In his news conference, Sheriff Schultz said his department would “honor these men by doing our jobs.”
“We haven’t been through anything quite like this before, but what makes our county unique is that we’re a family,” he said. “We’re going to grieve. We’re going to get upset. We’re probably going to cuss a little bit. But at the end of the day, we’re going to remember those two men for who they are. They’re heroes.”