By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
 An officer directs traffic near the Caribe Royale Hotel after two Orange County deputies were shot in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Wednesday. Three suspects were taken into custody, snarling traffic in the area with roadblocks before they were all apprehended. (AP Photo/Joe Kaleita) |
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Two Orange County sheriff’s deputies were shot Wednesday near Walt Disney World as they interrupted a car burglary, authorities said.
Curtis Barnes, 42, was shot in the arm, while John Siller, 40, was shot in the chest but was protected by a bulletproof vest, officials said.
Sheriff Kevin Beary said the shootings happened outside a hotel in Orlando’s tourist corridor. Deputies took three suspects into custody, snarling traffic in the area with roadblocks before they were all apprehended. Police helicopters circled overhead and state troopers watched with rifles in roadway medians.
“We know they interrupted a car burglary and the burglars had guns,” Beary said. “That’s all I know.”
Restaurants in the area were empty and a tourist welcome center shut down for the day. A sign on the door said it would reopen Thursday when the commotion died down.
The Caribe Royale Hotel, where the shooting happened, later Wednesday was supposed to host a state council to study socio-economic conditions in the black community, including poverty, violence and drug abuse. Starting Thursday, both Florida and Georgia attorneys general were scheduled to be at the hotel for a weekend conference on preventing black crime.