Orange County

Sheriff: Deputies, officers shoot armed man who held deputy, guard and nurse hostage at Orange County Jail

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Deputies shot an armed 25-year-old man who held a deputy, a corrections officer, a jail nurse and another person who had been arrested hostage while being booked into the Orange County Jail on Saturday, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said.

Mina said a deputy stopped a driver shortly after 5 p.m. on World Center Drive near South Apopka-Vineland Road and arrested two people on drug charges. They were taken to jail.

Read: Orange County Jail suspect held several people hostage, including nurse, sheriff says

He said one of the suspects, Eric Jefferson Stanley, pulled out a gun in the jail booking area and took the trio hostage.

Mina said three Orange County deputies and two Orlando police officers approached Stanley from outside the jail’s booking area.

He said the law enforcement officers shot at Stanley, striking him in the shoulder. His injuries were not life-threatening and no one else was seriously injured.

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Mina said deputies and officers negotiated with Stanley for about an hour and a half, ultimately persuading him to surrender.

Watch Skywitness 9 fly over the jail below:

“He threw the gun away, distanced himself from the gun, and it was at that point our SWAT team moved in and secured him,” he said.

Stanley was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center. He faces additional charges in connection with the alleged hostage situation, including three counts of armed kidnapping. He is scheduled to face a judge Monday.

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The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.

Watch Mina’s full news conference below:

The deputies involved in the shooting were placed on paid administrative leave, which is a standard procedure.

Click here to read a timeline of Saturday’s incident.

Check back and watch Channel 9 Eyewitness News for live updates on this developing story.

See a map of the arrest location below:

See a map of the jail below:

Jason Kelly

Jason Kelly, WFTV.com

Jason Kelly joined WFTV Channel 9 in 2014. He serves as the station's Digital Executive Producer.

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