The shooting occurred around 8:30 p.m. in Indialantic. Sheriff Wayne Ivey said a deputy responded to a disturbance in the area regarding feral cats and asked one of the neighbors to leave the area so he could speak to another neighbor.
Ivey said the man became agitated and went behind a vehicle, where the deputy, who is an Army veteran, heard a rifle being charged.
Deputies said the two then engaged in a gunfight, with both the deputy and the man being shot. Ivey said the deputy expended an entire magazine round in the shootout.
"The gunfire lasted long enough for our deputy to expend all the rounds of one of his magazines, reload and reengage the suspect," Ivey said.
Ivey said the deputy was pulled to safety by a neighbor, while the gunman died of his wounds.
"The neighbor pulled our deputy into the driveway where he could have some cover," Ivey said.
Neighbors said there has been ongoing controversy over the feeding of feral cats in the area.
"Well, we do have too many feral cats in the neighborhood. But you don't take a gun out and start shooting people. That's kind of outrageous," neighbor Johnnie Hull said.
The deputy received multiple gunshot wounds and was transported to an area hospital in serious but stable condition, the sheriff said Tuesday night.
During a news conference after the shooting, the deputy told the sheriff, "I won."
"His statement to me was 'I won,' and I could not be more proud of our deputy for his actions, for his tactical preparedness, and his ability to withstand someone shooting at him with a rifle," Ivey said.
The Sheriff's Office said the deputy is undergoing emergency medical treatment for his injuries and is expected to recover.
The Sheriff's Office has not released the name of the deputy or the man who was killed.
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