CRIME

Officials: Deputy critically injured in shooting outside Florida law firm; suspect in custody

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Okaloosa County Sheriff Larry Ashley, far left, and other sheriff's office personnel and emergency responders work at the scene of a law office in Shalimar, Fla., where a deputy sheriff was shot Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015. The suspect then fled to the nearby town of Niceville and barricaded himself in a hotel before exchanging gunfire with deputies. He was taken into custody just before 10:30 a.m. Central time. (Devon Ravine/Northwest Florida Daily News via AP) (The Associated Press)

Okaloosa Sheriff's Office personnel work at the scene of of a law office in Shalimar, Florida where a sheriff's deputy was shot by a man who later fled to the nearby town of Niceville and barricaded himself in a hotel before exchanging gunfire with deputies. He was taken into custody just before 10:30 a.m. Central time. (Devon Ravine/Northwest Florida Daily News via AP) (The Associated Press)

Okaloosa Sheriff's Office personnel work at the scene of of a law office in Shalimar, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015, where a sheriff's deputy was shot by a man who later fled to the nearby town of Niceville and barricaded himself in a hotel before exchanging gunfire with deputies. He was taken into custody just before 10:30 a.m. Central time. (Devon Ravine/Northwest Florida Daily News via AP) (The Associated Press)

Officials say a Florida Panhandle sheriff's deputy is in critical condition after being shot during a confrontation outside an attorney's office.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that the shooting happened around 8:20 a.m. Central time Tuesday in Shalimar. The office says that a short time later, the suspect was located, barricaded in a room at the Comfort Suites in nearby Niceville. Officials say they took the suspect into custody a short time later, about 10:30 a.m.

The Northwest Florida Daily News (http://bit.ly/1Yzv87R ) reports that the shooting took place outside the Cotton and Gates law firm in Shalimar, east of Pensacola.

Officials haven't released any information about the suspect. The deputy's name hasn't been released, and it was unclear what prompted the shooting. The races of those involved was not immediately known, either.

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Information from: Northwest Florida Daily News (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.), http://www.nwfdailynews.com