ORLANDO, Fla. – An Orange County sheriff's deputy was shot Tuesday in Orlando by a convicted felon, officials said.
According to a report from WKMG, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said Sgt. Richard "Rick" Stelter, 46, was shot multiple times while serving an arrest warrant for 20-year-old shooting suspect, Christopher Redding.
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Stelter and other deputies in the Investigative Surveillance Squad attempted to arrest the suspect at Park Central Apartment Complex on Americana Boulevard in Orlando at 11:42 a.m. for three recent robberies against elderly people, Demings said.
When deputies encountered Redding inside a vehicle he began firing at the deputies, shooting Stelter multiple times, Demings said. Four deputies returned fire, shooting and killing Redding.
Demings said Redding has a violent history, including a conviction of attempted murder at 17 years old.
A woman was inside a vehicle with the Redding. She received minor injuries, Demings said.
Orange County detective Michael Mandarano said the suspect and three other men targeted women, violently stealing their purses and throwing the victims to the ground.
One victim required a shoulder replacement, Mandarano said.
One of the purse snatching incidents happened at Mall at Millennia and another at the Florida Mall.
The deputy was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where a fellow law enforcement officer later said, "He's awake." The deputy is in stable condition, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Deming said he had visited Stetler in the hospital and that he was in "relatively good spirits."
"We're very, very confident he's in the best hands possible," Demings said.
Stelter has been with the Sheriff's Office since 1996 and is married with three children.
Video from News 6 helicopter Sky 6 showed several law enforcement officers at an apartment complex, with yellow tape blocking a section of the parking lot. A nearby shopping center, Americana Plaza, was also blocked off with police tape.
Several roads, including John Young Parkway, are blocked in the area.
Orlando police tweeted, "We are standing with our brothers and sisters ... and praying for the deputy's speedy recovery."
The shooting comes more than a month after Orlando police Lt. Debra Clayton was slain in the line of duty, and Orange County sheriff's Deputy Norman Lewis was killed in a crash during a manhunt for her accused killer.