Just a few miles away from Winter Springs High School, a convicted felon, Christian Joy, fired shots at Orange and Seminole County deputies at the intersection of State Road 436 and Aloma Avenue.

Around 2:30 p.m. on October 1st, during rush-hour on an already busy roadway, numerous shots were fired by unnamed deputies and Joy. Although authorities were only conducting a minor traffic stop, it quickly escalated into multi-crashes and several injured bystanders.

As the police attempted to pull over Joy’s vehicle that matched the description of one that was possibly involved in a recent burglary, he failed to stop his car and continued to travel for several miles before crashing his Infinity sedan into another vehicle. Then, he backed into an unmarked police car, and within seconds, he fled the scene and deputies decided to break off from the pursuit and just follow the car using helicopters.

After about 15 minutes of continuous fleeing, Joy’s car rammed into another vehicle. As soon as deputies began arriving to the area where the accident occurred, the offender jumped out of his sedan and opened fire at deputies. Seminole County deputy Brian Mahan was one of the victims who was shot, sustaining only a minor injury to the ankle, and according to the Seminole County Sherriff’s office, Mahan is healing well.

However, Joy sustained more bullets from officers and was immediately transferred to the Orlando Regional Medical Center in critical condition. In addition, an unidentified female was also in the car with him, but only received minor injuries.

Both of the suspects will face multiple charges including attempted homicide and aggravated battery of law enforcement. Joy was found to already have an extensive criminal background comprising of former battery and fleeing.

The aftermath of the commotion caused this intersection and adjacent roadways to be blocked off for several hours as evidence, such as shell casings, was collected. As with standard procedure for a shooting involving an officer, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement will be investigating the case even further. Although the investigation was necessary, it caused thousands of drivers to be stuck in traffic for several hours.