A Florida police officer is fighting for his life after sustaining a gunshot wound on Saturday evening.
Police say the incident unfolded around 7.30pm on Martin Luther King Boulevard in Fort Myers near the Marathon Gas Station at 3915.
The officer, whose identity has yet to be released to the public, is currently being treated at Lee Memorial Hospital.
He was rushed into surgery and is said to be recovering from his injury.
Police say the incident unfolded around 7.30pm on Martin Luther King Boulevard in Fort Myers
It remains unclear what led to the shooting at the Marathon Gas Station at 3915 (pictured) on Saturday night
The circumstances that led to the police officer’s brush with death remains unclear, News-Press.com reported.
Fort Myers police chief Derrick Diggs said that the suspected gunman is in police custody, but declined to elaborate further.
‘We’re holding our breath while he struggles for his life,’ Mayor Randall Henderson, who is currently in Asheville, North Carolina, told News-Press.
Two police officers are currently stationed outside the wounded officer’s room at the hospital.
Mayor Randall Henderson (R) said of the officer that ‘We’re holding our breath while he struggles for his life,’ while Fort Myers police chief Derrick Diggs (L) said that the suspected gunman is in custody
‘Every law enforcement agency is in there; it just shows you how strong we are,’ said Fort Myers City Councilman Johnny Streets.
‘We’re going to keep the officer in our prayers,’ Streets said. ‘I hope the officer pulls through. That’s my hope and prayer.’
Streets said he heard sirens and helicopters shortly before learning of the incident, and was later filled in by City Manager Saeed Kazemi.
‘Supposedly there was some return fire and the suspect was hit,’ Streets said. That information has yet to be independently confirmed.
The shooting comes close to the 10 year anniversary of Fort Myers police Officer Andrew Widman’s death on July 18, 2008.