WUFT-TV/FM | WJUF-FM
1200 Weimer Hall | P.O. Box 118405
Gainesville, FL 32611
(352) 392-5551

A service of the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida.

© 2024 WUFT / Division of Media Properties
News and Public Media for North Central Florida
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Hundreds Searching For Suspect In Orlando Officer Death

Orange County sheriff deputies salute as the body of Orange County Sheriff's Office Deputy First Class Norman Lewis was transported from Orlando Regional Medical Center after the deputy was killed in the line of duty Monday (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
Orange County sheriff deputies salute as the body of Orange County Sheriff's Office Deputy First Class Norman Lewis was transported from Orlando Regional Medical Center after the deputy was killed in the line of duty Monday (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Orlando Police Chief John Mina says his agency is doing everything it can to catch a suspect wanted in the fatal shooting of a police sergeant Monday.

Mina said Tuesday that teams of detectives are following all leads and hundreds of officers and deputies are searching for the suspect, 41-year-old Markeith Loyd.

Mina spoke in a video posted on the agency's Twitter page.

Master Sgt. Debra Clayton was gunned down in a northwest Orlando Wal-Mart parking lot after she approached Loyd, who was wanted for questioning in the murder of his pregnant girlfriend.

Officers focused the manhunt on an apartment complex Monday afternoon, but no searches appeared to be going on there Tuesday morning.

More than two hours after Clayton was fatally shot, Orange County Sheriff's Office Deputy First Class Norman Lewis was killed when his motorcycle collided with a van as he was responding to the manhunt in search of Loyd.

The community continued to mourn the two officers amid the search for the suspect Tuesday. Shoppers laid flowers, teddy bears and candles outside the Wal-Mart store where Clayton was killed and her patrol car is on display in front of Orlando Police headquarters.

The Associated Press is a wire service to which WUFT News subscribes.