Sniper shoots at Florida deputies three times after ambushing them in their squad car ...after 'shoot cop' graffiti appears The shooting took place at approximately 3:30am in a Dade City, Florida, church parking lot, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said
The deputies were shot at while they were keeping an eye on traffic in two different patrol cars
Both deputies survived the shooting unharmed
The shooting comes after deputies asked the public for help in connection with a graffiti message that spelled 'Shoot MP Cop'
Authorities have asked the public for help after two deputies in Dade City, Florida, were reportedly shot at three times on Sunday.
The shooting took place at approximately 3:30am in the Northside Baptist Church parking lot, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said in a release.
The news comes one week after NYPD Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were shot and killed in broad daylight. Police officer Charlie Kondek was also shot and killed in Tarpon Springs, Florida, last Sunday.
The Dade City shooting also comes after the Pasco County Sheriff's Office asked for help from the public on Friday in connection with a graffiti message that spelled 'Shoot MP Cop.'
Each Pasco County deputy was keeping an eye on traffic in a nearby intersection, the sheriff's office said. They were in two different patrol cars at the time.
The deputies were shot at three times, according to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office. Both deputies survived the shooting unharmed.
The release said that 'Both deputies reported hearing the whizzing sound of each projectile as they flew by.
'Deputies did not see the suspect or the vehicle from which the shots were fired.
'Area residents also heard the three gunshots and reported seeing a small, dark-colored vehicle with tinted windows in the area at the time of the shooting.'
The Pasco County Sheriff's Office says $3,000 is being offered for tips. It also says that information can be submitted several ways: by dialing 1-800- 873-TIPS, going to www.crimestoppersTB.com, and also by texting 274637 'CSTB and your tip.'
The 'Shoot MP Cop' graffiti appeared on a road barrier in Meadow Point, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said in a Friday release.
'The vandalism took place sometime between 2 p.m. And 7 p.m. Friday,' the release said.
Deputies said tips on the graffiti can be made by calling 727-847-8102 and 1- 800-706-2488.
'We're not saying it's tied together, but it definitely raises your antenna,' sheriff's office spokesman Eddie Daniels Jr. told The Wall Street Journal.
Sheriff Chris Nocco told Bay News 9, 'Our deputies deserve to be safe and our family members deserve to have their loved ones come home at the end of the shift.'
'We're going to come out in force and we are not going to apologize,' Nocco also said. 'We are not going to be politically correct. We are going to do what is right.'
