Three people, including a Florida deputy sheriff, were killed in what the local sheriff called an ambush Friday night in Lake County.

The slain deputy was identified as Master Deputy Sheriff Bradley Michael Link, 28, who came to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in 2019 after serving two years with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Prevously, he served in the US Army Reserves.

Two other deputies, who were not named, and one civilian were wounded in the chaotic episode that began with a 911 call about a disturbance at a home in Eustis shortly after 8 p.m., WOFL reported.

Sheriff Peyton Grinnell said that Link and another deputy responded to the call but were directed to a nearby home. When they arrived at the second home, they found the back door kicked in and could hear some kind of disturbance inside. But when they entered, they were met by gunfire, Grinnell said, and Link was hit and trapped inside the home while the other deputy managed to escape.

More deputies responded to the scene and “formed a rescue team,” Grinnell said, to get the wounded deputy out. That rescue team, the sheriff said, was “just met by a hail of gunfire” and two more deputies were shot.

“They were able to retreat,” he said. “At that time, we mobilized our SWAT team.”

The SWAT team made entry. “We tore the home apart to get in there so we could get that deputy out of there,” Grinnell said. “It was a chaotic scene from the start until the finish.”

The SWAT team retrieved Link and found the two suspects dead inside the home. A third suspect was transported to the hospital. Link was taken to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Grinnell said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was investigating the incident and would determine if the suspects were shot by deputies or were part of a murder-suicide, “which we see in these situations.”

The two wounded deputies, one struck in the shoulder and one shot multiple times, were transported to hospitals. The first deputy was in stable condition, and the seond second, who was shot in the armpit and stomach, underwent surgery and was said to be in “serious critical condition.”

Grinnell said officers found “multiple firearms inside of that home, everything from long guns to handguns.” He said that his department had been called to the home in the past but only for animal control calls.

As for his deputies, Grinnell said, “They were ambushed.”

The sheriff said multiple agencies, including the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, responded to assist in the call.

Link is survived by his wife and parents, the sheriff’s office said.

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[Featured image: Bradley Michael Link/Lake County Sheriff’s Office]