FL Deputy Killed, 2 Others Injured In Ambush Shooting: Sheriff

EUSTIS, FL — A Lake County Sheriff's Office deputy was shot and killed, and two others were injured, after officials say they were ambushed while responding to a disturbance call on Friday.

Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell said that deputies were met with a "hail of gunfire" at a residence in Eustis, a rural community about 37 miles from Orlando. At least two suspects in the shooting have died, and another is in custody.

Grinnell said that Master Deputy Sheriff Bradley M. Link, 28, and his colleagues had broken up a disturbance on Brookside Drive when someone on scene told the deputies to check on another house.

When the deputies got there, they noticed a door had been kicked open, and entered the home — where the suspects began firing at them.

Link became trapped while other deputies and SWAT members stormed the house and exchanged shots with the people inside, Grinnell said during a news conference on Saturday.

A second deputy had a shoulder wound and was in stable condition, and the third was hit in the armpit, groin and stomach area multiple times and was in “serious/critical” condition following surgery, Grinnell said.

Authorities said there is no ongoing threat to the community, and that there was no history of violent crime at the address. Officers later found multiple firearms, ranging from long guns to handguns, the sheriff said.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office said that Link had been a part of their Explorer program as a child, and served in the Army Reserves before he was hired as a deputy with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office in 2017. He came to Lake County in 2019 and "quickly became part of our family," said officials in a post Saturday.

"Brad, as our Sheriff’s Office family knew him, touched the lives of all who were blessed enough to work with him," the LCSO said in a statement. "His contributions and the impact of this loss will not soon be forgotten."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.