Overview
- Authorities say Thomas Earl Steffens, 72, opened fire from the passenger seat during a tactical traffic stop in Vero Beach, prompting five officers to return fire.
- Steffens, a former neurosurgeon, was wanted in Colorado on allegations he drugged and sexually assaulted a woman in Grand Junction.
- Officials report Steffens was struck multiple times and is expected to survive, and a U.S. marshal was shot in the leg, treated at a hospital, and released.
- Sheriff Eric Flowers said the team was preparing less-lethal pepperball rounds when the suspect began shooting, and investigators had intelligence he vowed not to be taken alive.
- Body-camera footage is being withheld under the U.S. Marshals’ lead as Steffens faces attempted-murder charges in Florida and potentially federal counts, in addition to the Colorado case.