ORLANDO, Fla. — A man took an Orange County Sheriff's Office deputy, an Orange County Jail corrections officer and a jail nurse hostage Saturday evening and was later shot and surrendered.
- Eric Jefferson Stanley, 25, taken into custody
- He was shot in shoulder, surrendered after 90 minutes
- Sheriff says Stanley's firearm not detected during search
The incident started after 5 p.m. when deputies conducted a traffic stop and arrested two people on cannabis charges.
One of those men, identified at a Saturday night news conference as Eric Jefferson Stanley, 25, produced a gun at the jail. He had been searched earlier, but the gun wasn't found, officials said.
Two Orlando Police Department officers and three Sheriff's Office deputies confronted Stanley and shot at him, according to Sheriff John Mina.
"Officers and deputies confronted him, he was an armed suspect holding a hostage with a gun. He was shot at that point," Mina said. "After that he kind of hid behind a desk and we negotiated with him for about an hour and a half. Once he threw the gun towards the side, we were able to move in and apprehend him."
Stanley was shot in the shoulder and suffered non-life-threatening injuries. He faces felony charges.
No deputies or officers were hurt.
Mina said an internal investigation will look into why the gun wasn't found during the initial arrest search.
The Orange County Chief of Corrections stated this was a day no one wants to see.
"I've got 32 years of experience in corrections, and I’ll tell you by far this is the worst day of my career . It is a day that every jail administrator hopes and prays never comes," said Louis A. Quiñones Jr., the chief of Orange County Corrections.
He says everyone's training was able to resolve the situation successfully with no law enforcement or jail staff being hurt.
Stanley does have a criminal history in Pasco County.
A second person was arrested with Stanley, but that person will not face charges.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will investigate the officer- and deputy-involved shooting. Those officers and deputies are on temporary paid leave.
The jail is located off John Young Parkway and Interstate 4.
Rachael Krause contributed to this story.
Eric Jefferson Stanley, 25, is accused of taking several people hostage inside the Orange County Jail. (Orange County Sheriff's Office)