Deputy officers were involved in a shootout last Wednesday night. The incident occurred at Ridge Avenue, Florence at around 6:30 pm when deputy Randall McCrary and two other officers were trying to serve commitment papers to a man named Timothy Vincent Murphy.
Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton spoke to the media to address the incident with his men and Murphy. According to the Sheriff, the events were unclear but that there was an "exchange of gunfire" that occurred which injured McCrary and the suspect. Fox News reports that both McCrary and Murphy were still communicating with each other when they were rushed away from the scene of the shooting. The two were airlifted to Huntsville Hospital so they could get treated.
Although he was shot twice, Singleton assured the media that McCrary's injuries did not appear life-threatening. The police officer went into surgery later in the night and is currently recovering after the injuries he sustained. As for the suspect, his condition was not immediately available to the the public.
Murphy was being served commitment papers for pending arrests in 2008 for possession of child pornography and for arson. He had been indicted on 46 counts of possession of obscene material that involved a minor on his pornography case. However, the charges were dropped a year later when the machine containing the materials was found inoperable after forensic analysis. The arson case was also dismissed. In Alabama, he had been convicted of traffic violations.
The shooting incident is currently being investigated by the State Bureau of Investigation. The local Florence Police Department has promised to provide assistance in investigating the case to see what really happened at the apartment. There has not been any word on whether or not anyone else was home at the time of the incident.
