Sheriff Grady Judd is speaking to the media from Prairie Industrial Parkway in Mulberry, regarding a deputy-involved shooting which occurred overnight. None of the deputies involved were injured
Two suspects who allegedly were burglarizing a storage unit business in the Bowling Green area drove away from local police when their activity had been interrupted at about midnight, according to Sheriff Grady Judd.
Bowling Green officers asked for the Polk County Sheriff’s Office to back them up as suspects, James Hilburn, 27, of Riverview and Justin Norris, 25, of Dover, drove through Fort Meade to U.S. Highway 60. Authorities accused the suspects of having a gun in the driver’s seat.
Judd said the suspects turned onto Prairie Industrial Parkway during the chase, and deputies set up stop sticks. The road provides only one way out and one way in, according to Judd. Hilburn allegedly turned his vehicle toward Lieutenant William Strickland, 49.
“Immediately, we start shooting at the vehicle,” Judd said. “James is ultimately shot in the head—in the face area. Justin is shot in the legs. And they’re also grazed. And the vehicle coasts to a stop.”
Two other deputies, Britton “Alex” Watson, 32, and Dylan Harrison, 27, shot at the suspects, too, Judd said. The number of times deputies shot toward the vehicle has not been released yet.