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Join Telegram ChannelA Florida sheriff's deputy was released from the hospital Monday, a month after he was shot during an “ambush” that killed one deputy and wounded him and another deputy, according to reports.
Deputy Sheriff First Class Stefano Gargano, 28, and Senior Deputy Sheriff Harold Howell, 41, were both shot while trying to save Senior Deputy Sheriff Bradley Michael Link after he was shot and trapped in a home in Eustis, Florida, as sheriffs responded to a welfare check request.
“They were ambushed,” Lake County Sheriff Peyton C. Grinnell said at the time. “We lost one tonight.”
Link later died of his injuries at the hospital. Gargano, who was shot “numerously” in the stomach and armpit, was in critical condition after the shooting and immediately underwent surgery.
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Deputy First Class Stefano Gargano was one of three officers shot and wounded in a deadly ambush last month. He was released from the hospital Monday. (Lake County Sheriff's Office/FOX 35)
Howell was shot in the shoulder and was released early last month.
Gargano has undergone at least five surgeries in the past month and is expected to make a full recovery, FOX 35 reported.
Gargano is now home with his family recovering, the network reported. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Lake County Sheriff's Department.
Julie Sulpizio, 48, was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, seven counts of attempted murder, assault and battery/strangulation, and two counts of assault and battery on a law enforcement officer in the shooting.
She could face the death penalty if convicted.
Deputy Chief Bradley Michael Link died in the shooting. (Lake County Sheriff's Office)
Officers found the back door kicked in and heard noises inside the home after seeing two dead dogs outside. When they entered the home, officers were met with gunshots fired by Sulpizio's husband, Michael, who was waiting inside with a rifle and wearing a bulletproof vest. Link was shot and trapped inside the home and later succumbed to his injuries.
Grinnell said a caller said a woman, later identified as Sulpizio, was attacking people and trespassing on their property. Sulpizio allegedly punched residents and made religious comments, accusing them of being sinners.
In a later interview with investigators, Sulpizio said she was trying to lure those neighbors to her home so her husband could kill them, Grinnell said.
Deputy Sheriff Harold Howell, 41, was released from the hospital in early August. (Lake County Sheriff's Office)
“It didn't succeed because of our MPs,” he said.
Sulpizio and Michael's two daughters, Savannah and Cheyenne, were also inside the house, and one of them was heard shouting, “My King will kill you all! You are the children of Lucifer!”
Julie Sulpizio, 48, was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, seven counts of attempted murder, assault and battery/strangulation, and two counts of assault and battery on a law enforcement officer in the shooting. (Lake County Sheriff's Office)
Link's body camera footage showed Michael and his daughters discussing suicide before they were all found dead with gunshot wounds to the head, the sheriff said.
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The sheriff said officers found a stash of guns, ammunition and bottled water during a search, but no phones or televisions. The sheriff also said “anti-government propaganda” and media materials related to conspiracy theories were also found.
Fox News' Landon Mion contributed to this report.