BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — A Brevard deputy shot in the line of duty this week is on the road to recovery.​

Deputy Paul Phillips was hit three times in the gunfire exchange that ended with the suspect dead.

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey says Phillips is a fighter. He has just one year on the force, but he served 16 years in the Army and was deployed twice to Iraq.

"He has an 'I'm going to win' mentality," Ivey said. "I believe that's a big reason why he's alive, because he refused to do anything but live. To be shot three times, endure that, and still focus on the individual.”

That person is 45-year-old Erik Gebauer.

Investigators say he was part of an argument with a neighbor over feral cats at a home on Avenida De La Vista in unincorporated Indialantic Tuesday night.

Investigators say Phillips got to the scene and told one neighbor to go inside while he spoke to the other.

Gebauer went behind a vehicle, loaded a rifle, and that's when the exchange of gunfire began.

The deputy was struck several times, but was able to shoot and kill the gunman.

"I believe his actions saved the lives of those responding to the scene and neighbors," Ivey said. "This person had evil in his heart to harm somebody."

Gebauer has an extensive criminal history, ranging from aggravated battery on an officer, burglary, stalking, and domestic violence.

Deputies last visited Gebauer​'s home in late 2017 on a suspicious person complaint.

Investigators say it appears he was 'agitated' over local complaints of him caring for a feral cat community.

In September 2018, Brevard Animal Services officers worked with a local rescue to rescue 20 cats in that area.