UPDATE: There will be a candlelight vigil in memory of fallen Deputy Chris L. Smith on Monday, Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. at the Dick Howser stadium on the campus of Florida State University in Tallahassee.
Lights on for Deputy Chris Smith Facebook page
Chris Smith Online Memorial – GoHeroes.us
At 10:15 a.m. on November 22, 2014, the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, along with the Tallahassee Police Department and the Tallahassee Fire Department responded to a house fire at 3722 Caracus Court.
As the deputies arrived on scene first, the suspect, Curtis Wade Holley, 53, launched an armed ambush attack. One deputy, 47-year-old Chris L. Smith, was immediately shot and killed. The other deputy, Colin Wulfekuhl, engaged the suspect and was shot also, although his bulletproof vest saved him.
Smith was a married father of two children, and a Christian, according to the Leon County Sheriff’s Office.
Holley took the fallen deputy’s firearm and began walking North on Caracus Court actively shooting at the first responders as they arrived on the scene. Responders from the Tallahassee Fire Department were also shot at by Holley as they arrived to fight the fire.
Tallahassee Police Officers responded to the area and engaged the suspect, shooting him and killing him. Holley was known to law enforcement as having anti-government and anti-establishment views, and there was evidence indicating Holley planned to shoot as many arriving first responders as possible, said Lt. James McQuaig, spokesman for the Leon County Sheriff’s Office.
Officials said Holley acted alone and no one was found in the burned-down house.
Multiple agencies have responded to the scene and are assisting with this investigation as it continues to unfold.
Members of the Tallahassee Police Department, the Tallahassee Fire Department, Leon County Emergency Medical Services, the State Attorney’s Office, the State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms also responded.
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