Suspect dead after Orange County deputy shot, sheriff says

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An Orange County Sheriff’s Office sergeant was shot by a convicted felon while serving a warrant Tuesday, deputies said.

The man who opened fire, identified as Christopher Redding Jr., 20, was then shot and killed by other deputies, according to Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings.

Photos: Orange County deputy wounded in shooting

Demings said Sgt. Richard Stelter, 45, was shot in the hand, arm and other areas, but is expected to recover. He remains in stable condition at Orlando Regional Medical Center.

Stelter is a 21-year veteran of the sheriff’s office.

The gunfire was reported at the Park Central apartments in the 8500 block of South Texas Avenue near Americana Boulevard just before noon.

Deputies from the Investigative Support Squad were trying to serve a warrant on Redding, who was wanted on a parole violation and for a series of purse snatchings targeting elderly women.

One of his victims, 80-year-old Nancy Horton, told Channel 9 that she was seriously injured when she was jumped from behind and thrown to the ground during a purse snatching.

"They dislocated my shoulder, fractured it in numerous places, to the point where I have artificial bones," she said.

Investigators believe Redding was the individual who attacked Horton.

According to court records, Redding was supposed to be in jail at the time of the purse snatchings.

Having been convicted of aggravated battery and shooting into a vehicle in 2012 when he was 16 years old, Redding was out on probation when he was arrested in January.

When the arrest was made, he should have been held without bond, WFTV legal analyst Belvin Perry said.

Instead, Redding was able to get out of jail.

"It just slipped through the cracks," Perry said. "Either someone did not see it ... (or) someone did not run a thorough records check.

"It is quite evident that someone not only dropped the ball, they dropped a huge ball in this particular case."

"When the deputies encountered this individual, he was in a vehicle. They tried to tactically park the vehicle, and at that time, the subject began firing upon the deputies first," Demings said.

Four deputies returned fire, killing Redding, Demings said.

A young woman was in the vehicle with the shooter and was hospitalized for a minor injury, Demings said. A 4-month-old boy and a 1-year-old girl were also in the car, but were not harmed. The children are with their grandmother.

Deputies said when they got to the vehicle, the woman complied with the deputies' orders, but Redding began firing as he got out of the car, hitting Stelter. They said Redding was firing at deputies as he tried to run from the scene.

“Right now, it appears the actions taken by deputies were appropriate,” Demings said.

MORE: Suspect killed in deputy-involved shooting had long criminal history, records show

A witness said she saw the woman running from the car leaving a baby somewhere behind, but deputies have not said if there was a baby at the scene.

“She was telling some guy she needed to get her baby and I guess she went to get the baby, and I saw the officers checking the baby and they put her on a stretcher,” said the witness, who asked not to be identified.

She said she didn’t see what happened to the baby after that.

Detectives said Redding has a violent history, which began when he was 17 years old and was convicted on an attempted-murder charge. Demings said the suspect continued to commit violent crimes after serving time.

“Today, those violent tendencies led to his death,” Demings said.

The warrant was in connection with a series of three robberies and a violation of probation charge. Detectives believe the shooter was part of a group that snatched purses off women, two of whom suffered significant injuries to their shoulders when they were pushed to the ground.

Dozens of law enforcement officers from multiple law enforcement agencies remained at the scene of the Park Central apartments.

Crime scene tape surrounded a building and several vehicles.

Deputies appeared to be focusing on a silver car that had all four doors open, but investigators have not said if it was the vehicle Redding was in when he opened fire.

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A woman at the apartment complex told Channel 9 she heard about eight gunshots.

"It was so bad, I thought it was firecrackers," said Nicole Moore. "I saw a man running, he was wobbling like he was about to go down."

Moore said some of her windows were shattered by gunfire.

“Glass started to shatter,” she said. “I saw a man running for his life, and I saw cops running after him, shooting.”

Moore said at least one bullet wound up in her bathroom sink.

“It literally went right past my head. I ended up getting a cut on my knuckle. My boyfriend got cut on his arm,” she said.

No other suspects are being sought. The four deputies who opened fire are on leave pending the results of the investigation, Demings said.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will be investigating, which is standard practice for officer-involved shootings.

The Orlando Police Department showed its support for the sheriff's office via Twitter. The department lost one of its own last month. Lt. Debra Clayton was shot and killed by wanted murder suspect Markeith Loyd, police said. Orange County Deputy Norman Lewis died in a motorcycle crash while responding to Clayton's killing.

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