Neighbors were arguing about feral cats. One of them then opened fire on deputy, cops say

A Brevard County Sheriff’s Office deputy was shot multiple times overnight after an argument broke out over feeding feral cats in a residential neighborhood.

The man who shot the deputy is dead.

According to ClickOrlando.com, the shooting occurred around 8:30 p.m. in a residential area in unincorporated Indialantic.

The deputy, whose name has not been released, was responding to a neighborhood dispute between neighbors arguing about one man feeding feral cats.

News 13 in Orlando is reporting that one of the men became agitated and armed himself with a rifle and began firing. The deputy returned fire, killing the unidentified shooter.

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey told Fox 35, and other area reporters early Wednesday morning that he visited the wounded deputy, who then told the sheriff, “I won.”

The deputy’s wounds are said to be serious, but he is recovering.

“(The deputy) asked one of the neighbors to go back into his house, so he could talk to the second neighbor who seemed to be extremely agitated,” Ivey told reporters. “As our deputy was trying to talk to him, his agitation was very evident, he was starting to act like he was rolling up his pants, mumbling like he was trying to engage our deputy.

“At one point, he goes behind a vehicle that’s parked nearby, and our deputy, who is an Army veteran, heard the very distinct sound of a rifle being charged.”

The deceased suspect is said to have come around the corner of the vehicle and opened fire. The deputy returned fire in a “tactical retreat,” firing every round in his magazine before reloading and firing more rounds.

The suspect was declared dead on the scene and his name is being withheld until the investigation concludes.

This story was originally published June 5, 2019 at 7:38 AM.