Officials: Deputy wounded during Florida Panhandle shootout

SHALIMAR, Fla. -- A gunman shot and critically wounded a Florida Panhandle sheriff's deputy during a confrontation outside a lawyer's office Tuesday and then barricaded himself inside a motel, where he exchanged gunfire with other deputies before he was captured, officials said.

The man was taken into custody just before 10:30 a.m. Central time, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office. He had briefly barricaded himself at the Comfort Suites in Niceville, which is near the attorney's office in Shalimar where officials say he shot the deputy.

Neither the suspect's nor the deputy's names were released. The wounded officer was undergoing surgery, and no one else was hurt, officials said. It was unclear what prompted the shooting, and officials didn't give details.

Annie Allen works at an awning business next to the law firm. Allen said she and her boss were starting their workday Tuesday when six to eight gunshots rang out.

"We heard `pop, pop, pop'," she said.

Allen said she called 911, and her boss ran outside, where he encountered the gunman leaving the law office.

Allen said her boss took pictures with his cellphone and followed the gunman in his car.

"The guy got in his truck and just tore out of the parking lot," she said.

Allen said she saw the sheriff's deputy on the ground moments later.

"When I realized it was an officer that he shot, that's when it really hit me how dangerous it was," she said.

Workers from the local electric company were working nearby. Allen said the men also called 911 and stayed with the deputy until help arrived.

Allen said she and her boss talked to investigators and provided them with the cellphone photos of the man and license plate information.

Hours later, Allen was still visibly shaken.

"When someone shoots a law officer, they have nothing to lose," she said. "It is good more people weren't hurt."