Gunman Dead After Ambushing, Killing Two Sheriff's Deputies in Restaurant

Two Gilchrist County sheriff’s deputies were ambushed and killed Thursday by a gunman who may have taken his own life.

The deputies, 29-year-old Sgt. Noel Ramirez and 25-year-old Taylor Lindsey, were eating at Ace China restaurant around 3 pm when the gunman opened fire on them through a window. Both deputies were killed.

The Washington Post quoted Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office saying, “Both our heroes had simply sat down to eat while on duty. There was no crime in progress, no disturbance. The suspect appears to have walked to the front of the business and shot both men without warning. Two holes in the window are visible tonight.”

Gilchrist County Sheriff Robert Schultz addressed the incident, saying, “I don’t have answers to why this happened.

Responding deputies found the gunman dead outside the restaurant, he was identified as 59-year-old John Highnote.

NPR reports Sheriff Schultz refused to confirm whether Highnote killed himself. Rather, Schultz said, “I want this to be about those deputy sheriffs, I think that you can respect that. The world’s full of cowards, and the world’s full of heroes. We need to highlight those heroes, and what they gave.”

Although no motive for the shooting was reported, Schultz did address the energy many protesters expend in criticizing law enforcement. He said, “What do you expect happens when you demonize law enforcement to the extent that it’s been demonized? The only thing these men were guilty of was wanting to protect you and me. They just wanted to go get something to eat. And they just wanted to do their job.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets with AWR Hawkins, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.