Orange County deputy wounded in shooting; suspect killed

A sergeant with the Orange County Sheriff's Office was shot Tuesday in Holden Heights while serving a warrant on a robbery suspect.

The suspect, who opened fire first, was killed by other deputies.

He was identified this afternoon as Christopher Redding Jr., 20, according to Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings.

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 in the 8500 block of South Texas Avenue near Americana Boulevard just before noon.

The deputy was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center.

Dozens of law enforcement officers from multiple law enforcement agencies remained at the scene of the Huntington-On-The Green Condominiums. Crime scene tape surrounded a building and several vehicles.

Deputies appeared to be focusing on a silver car that had all four doors open.

A witness told Channel 9 she heard about eight gunshots.

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 car crash while responding to Clayton's killing.