Officer injured, suspects in custody after shooting at Melbourne hotel

MELBOURNE, Fla. — A veteran police officer is recovering after being shot during an incident at a Melbourne hotel Friday evening.

Melbourne police said officers responded to the Suburban Extended Stay Hotel after receiving a 911 call just after 5 p.m.

According to Melbourne police Chief David Gillespie, when the officers arrived at the scene, officers said two people inside one of the rooms began talking to officers through the door.

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“At one point the door was open but it was still latched. so there was some dialogue and interaction there.” Gillespie said.

After a brief conversation, the suspect became silent and bolted the door shut.

Moments later, the suspect began firing at officers through the door.

“When he got to 3, 2, 1, he started to fire,” Gillespie said.

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Officer injured, suspects in custody after shooting at Melbourne hotel (WFTV)

One officer, K-9 Officer Gregory Hughes, was hit by gunfire, with a bullet striking him in his bulletproof vest.

“The vest did its job and protected him and he’s currently undergoing some scans and x-rays but by all accounts, he is gonna survive this incident,” Gillespie said.

Hughes, a 26-year veteran of the department, was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and later released.

Crisis Negotiation Unit and SWAT officers were able to talk the suspects out of the room, and both were taken into custody.

Police later charged 28-year-old Lukas Alves with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, shooting into an occupied dwelling, and aggravated assault with a firearm.

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The other person involved in the shooting has not been identified.

Two officers who exchanged gunfire with Alves during the incident have been placed on routine administrative duty pending the outcome of an investigation.

See a map of the scene below:

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