A murder suspect was killed this morning during a gun battle with Sumter County sheriff’s deputies which shut down part of Interstate 75.
The suspect was in a black Mercedes-Benz at 9:36 a.m. and fleeing Citrus County sheriff’s deputies on State Road 44 and avoided multiple stop-stick attempts while driving to Interstate 75 from State Road 44. Sumter County deputies and the Florida Highway Patrol joined in the chase.
The suspect lost control of the vehicle and it crashed on the center median of southbound I-75. The armed suspect got out of the vehicle and fired at deputies. The deputies fired back, fatally wounding the suspect who died at the scene.
Southbound I-75 will remain shut down for an indefinite amount of time, according to the sheriff’s office.
The pursuit began shortly after 9 a.m. after a shooting in the parking lot of a Quality Inn hotel in Hernando. An older man was found laying on the ground and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has been called in to investigate.
