Woman arrested in connection with 'ambush' shooting that killed 1 deputy, injured 2 others: Sheriff

Police in Lake County, Florida, said Monday they have arrested a woman over her alleged involvement in an "ambush" style shooting last Friday that left one deputy dead and two others injured.

On Monday, police identified the suspect as Julie Sulpizio. State Attorney Bill Gladstone of the Fifth Judicial District said at Monday's news conference that Sulpizio is facing 12 counts, but a murder charge can't be brought until his department brings a case before a grand jury.

The three Lake County Sheriff's deputies were shot while they were responding to a report of a disturbance outside a Florida home on Aug. 2. The sheriff's office named the deputy who was shot and killed as Master Deputy Sheriff Bradley Michael Link, 28. The two injured deputies were identified as Gargano and Howell.

Deputies responded to a 911 call last Friday at 7:45 p.m. ET about a female assaulting people in the caller's yard and trespassing on the man's property, authorities said. The woman, identified as Sulpizio, struck the caller's wife, his father and others, the man claimed on the call, Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell said. The 911 caller said Sulpizio was acting religious, "accusing them of being sinners, and [saying] she knows what they did," Grinnell added.

While conducting their investigation, the deputies learned there was an issue at a home a few houses down from where they were, Grinnell said.

After arriving at the second home, deputies heard a disturbance inside the house, the sheriff said. When the deputies finally entered the home, there was "a lot of gunfire," and Link was struck multiple times by gunfire originating from where suspect Michael Sulpizio, Julie Sulpizio's husband, was sitting, Grinnell said Monday.

Gargano and Howell were also hit by gunfire during the incident.

"It was a very violent scene," Grinnell said of the house where Michael Sulpizio and the couple's two adult daughters were found dead of what Grinnell said appeared to be self-inflicted gunshot wounds, after the incident.

A stockpile of guns and ammunition was found in the home, along with gas masks, body armor, medical bags, bottled water and other items, Grinnell said.

The house was also filled with "anti-government propaganda" and "conspiracy theory-related media," he added.

At Monday's news briefing, Grinnell said Julie Sulpizio, in an interview with authorities, "claimed to be God" and said she "believes that God speaks through her."

Deputy Gargano had his third surgery on Monday following the shooting, and itwent well, Grinnell said.

"Therefore, we are obviously hopeful that he really begins to show some good signs of progress towards a full and complete recovery," Grinnell told the media, adding that Gargano is now in stable condition.

Howell had a second arm surgery on Monday and is expected to make a full recovery, the sheriff said.

Link, the deputy who was killed, had been hired by the sheriff's office in 2019, the office said. He had previously been an Army reservist and then a deputy sheriff in Polk County, authorities said.

"Our sheriff's office family is hurting," Grinnell said Monday. "And all of you are helping us through this horrific nightmare."

The office added, "Prayers for Master Deputy Link's wife, Brittany, and his parents, Christi and Daniel, as well as for our agency and the community he so faithfully served, are greatly appreciated during this time of tremendous loss."

No information on a legal representative for Sulpizio was immediately available.

ABC News' Matt Foster and Alexandra Faul contributed to this report.