Brevard deputy in critical condition after shootout

PORT ST. JOHN, Fla. (AP) – A central Florida county sheriff said his deputies were ambushed as they approached a home to serve a search warrant as part of a prostitution investigation.

One deputy was critically wounded the shootout that took place Thursday night. And the suspected gunman was wounded by return fire from the deputies.

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said during a news conference early Friday that his deputies were working with the Titusville Police Department to take a woman at the Port St. John home into custody.

“As the approached, the man opened fire,” Ivey said.

“From everything we see right now, they have not even gotten all the way up to the house, so I would definitely classify it as an ambush,” the sheriff said.

Ivey said the deputy who was shot was in critical condition and underwent surgery overnight. The shooter was in stable condition when he was taken to a hospital.

The woman inside the house was taken into custody for questioning.

Ivey said a SWAT team was called to the home to make sure no one else was inside the home.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has taken over the investigation.

No identities were immediately released. Ivey also said authorities don’t know the male suspect’s relationship with the woman. The races of the deputy and the shooter weren’t immediately known.

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