Stolen vehicle drove toward Orange City officer prior to shooting, police say

1 person injured in officer-involved shooting

ORANGE CITY, Fla. – A day after a passenger in a stolen truck was shot by an Orange City police officer, department officials are releasing new details about what led up to the officer-involved shooting, including what happened moments before the officer fired his weapon.

In a news release, Lt. Jason Sampsell said officers had responded at 2:41 p.m. Thursday to an Advanced Auto Parts store on Enterprise Road for a report about a possible stolen truck out of Lake County. As Orange City police approached, the truck the driver fled south behind the business into the backyards of the Orange City Flats apartment complex, officials said.

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An Orange City police officer pulled into the entrance of the apartment complex and got out of his patrol car to assist.

According to Sampsell, the driver of the stolen vehicle left the apartment complex at a high rate of speed and drove toward the police officer who was on foot. At that time the officer fired his weapon. He was not injured.

The stolen vehicle continued north on Enterprise Road. Near the Advanced Auto Parts, store officers deployed stop sticks. The truck was found several blocks away in the 700 block of Amhurst Drive by Orange City police and Volusia County Sheriff's Office deputies.

When authorities found the truck, the driver had fled on foot and a female passenger was found suffering from a gunshot wound to her hip area. She was taken to the hospital for treatment.

A handgun was found in the stolen truck, police said.

The suspected driver of the stolen truck, Ryan Ladd, was later found north of Willow Crest Street by a Volusia County Sheriff's Office K-9 unit.

Ladd is charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, drug possession. Ladd also had an active arrest warrant out of Seminole County for driving without a license.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement will investigate the shooting, which is standard procedure when an officer fires their weapon.


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