TCSO deputy recovering after getting shot in head

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - For a third time in 2022, a Thomas County deputy has been injured by gunfire. This time, an off-duty deputy was shot three times while attending a gathering Friday night.

According to Capt. Steven Jones, reports of a shooting along Midway Road came in around 11 p.m. Authorities arrived on scene to discover the victim was one of their own.

“It brings it up another level, like I said it’s like a family member to us,” he said. “You work side by side with these people day in day out. They have your lives in their hands and you have theirs in yours. It’s a little different responding to that.”

Capt. Jones said the deputy was shot twice in the head and once in the back. He was rushed to a local hospital in a patrol car. He was in stable condition over the weekend and had surgery Monday.

Capt. Jones said he was grateful for an overwhelming response from the Thomasville community.

“Everywhere I did go people were asking me, ‘how’s the deputy, how’s the deputy doing. Our prayers are with him.’ It’s just an outpouring. And I’m sure we’ll hear a lot more,” he said.

The agency declined to share the deputy’s name as he recovers in the hospital.

The suspect, 60-year-old Terry Sloan, was arrested early Saturday morning following a lengthy multi-agency manhunt.

Capt. Jones said the deputy had been with TCSO just over a year in what was a second stint with the agency. Because it was an off-duty incident and he had limited paid sick days accumulated, TCSO employees are donating their own sick days to help him out.

In January 2022, three Thomas County deputies were shot at, and two were hit, trying to serve a search warrant. All three survived.

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