Barberville, FL – A Virginia man is dead and a pregnant woman is shot and could be facing charges after a traffic stop ended with bullets flying in a remote part of Volusia County.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office says 26-year-old Timothy Wagner was killed around 11:30pm Monday on State Road 40 just west of County Road 3 in Barberville.
The female driver – identified by VCSO as 19-year-old Shannon Murphy – was shot in the shoulder and airlifted to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach for treatment.
Wagner and Murphy are both from the Virginia city of Marion, according to VCSO.
VCSO spokesman Gary Davidson says it all started when Deputy William Kretzer spotted a 2006 GMC truck with a burned out tail light heading westbound on SR 40 and pulled it over.
“2 deputies approached the truck, one on the driver’s side and one on the passenger side,” Davidson added. “About 2 minutes later while talking to the occupants, the passenger pulled out a gun and fired at both deputies.”
Kretzer and the deputy who responded for backup – Daniel Sweeley – took out their guns and fired back, per Davidson.
“Deputy Sweeley was talking to the female driver when the male passenger pulled out a gun and fired shots at both deputies,” Davidson noted. “Both deputies then returned fire.”
Wagner died in the truck, where deputies also found 2 guns, including the one Wagner allegedly used to shoot at the deputies, per VCSO.
It isn’t clear at this point who shot Murphy, but she was around 6 months pregnant at the time of the shooting, according to Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson.
Neither deputy was injured in the shooting, but both have been placed on paid leave while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates.
Johnson also noted during a press conference late Tuesday morning that it was “pure luck” neither deputy was shot and that Wagner “got what he deserved” for trying to “kill my officers”.
Kretzer is 51 years old and has been with VCSO since October 2002. Sweeley is 35 years old and was hired by VCSO in November 2011.
According to deputies, the GMC truck was later discovered as stolen from an auto dealership in Jackson County. That’s in the Florida Panhandle.
Deputies also noted that Murphy is cooperating in the investigation.
The Volusia County Medical Examiner’s Office is expected to do an autopsy on Wagner’s body sometime on Tuesday.
Copyright 2015 Southern Stone Communications.