TAYLOR COUNTY, Fla. — The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Wednesday the man believed to have shot a deputy in Taylor County triggering a Florida Blue Alert died in a shootout with a homeowner.
A Blue Alert is issued if a law enforcement officer is seriously injured, killed by a subject, or becomes missing while in the line of duty under circumstances causing concern for the law enforcement officer's safety.
FDLE issued the Blue Alert after Gregory Ryan Miedema allegedly shot the Taylor County deputy late Tuesday night. Law enforcement told our sister station ABC27 in Tallahassee the deputy suffered serious injuries and he was airlifted from the scene.
According to FDLE, the shooting happened as the deputy conducted a traffic stop on Miedema. After the shooting, Miedema left the scene and multiple agencies, including FDLE and departments into southern Florida began working to find the suspect.
The FDLE said Miedema had a lengthy criminal history and was a registered sex offender in Lee County.
Dixie County Sheriff Darby Butler said the search came to an end Wednesday morning when his department received a call from a homeowner about a shooting. The homeowner said an armed intruder tried to enter his home and shots were fired. The homeowner told deputies Miedema entered the home before being shot and killed.
FDLE said the homeowner suffered minor injuries during the shootout and was being treated at a local hospital.
Sheriff Butler and Taylor County Sheriff Wayne Padgett said FDLE will be the lead in the investigation. FDLE said the investigation will include seeing if Miedema had accomplices, how he got his weapons since he was a convicted felon, and how he got to northern Florida.
