ORLANDO, Fla. – An Orlando city worker was arrested Wednesday morning in the shooting of an Orange County sheriff's deputy at a storage facility, authorities said.
Eric Howell, a 29-year-old Orlando Public Works employee, was arrested in the shooting, which happened around 6:45 a.m. Wednesday at Public Storage on LB McLeod Road near Kirkman Road.
The 48-year-old deputy, identified as Charlie Murphy, was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries after being shot in the back. Officials said Murphy has been employed by the Orange County Sheriff's Office for six years, but he was not on duty or acting in a law enforcement capacity at the time of the incident.
Orlando police said Howell and Murphy were involved in a dispute, which led to the shooting. Howell was arrested a short time later, police said.
A black sport utility vehicle at the storage facility was riddled with bullet holes.
Orlando police investigators were seen talking to two young children, but officers said the kids did not witness the shooting. Department of Children and Families officials said a DCF investigator is currently working with OPD after DCF responded to an allegation of family violence.
DCF said were two young children in the household and both are safe and were not physically harmed. They are currently with a relative and DCF has not made a change in their custody.
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