Overview
- The episode began when Deputy Jon Samuelson stopped for a disabled silver Chrysler 300 and gave the driver a ride to the hospital, a sequence investigators say took place on Friday.
- Inside the ER, Samuelson and 22-year-old Sharod L. Grafton struggled and Grafton fired three times, with one bullet lodging near the T1 vertebra and leaving the deputy paralyzed from the chest down.
- A nurse told investigators Samuelson had forced the suspect’s gun hand away seconds before the gun discharged and surveillance video supported the nurse’s account.
- After the shooting Grafton briefly hid in the bed of a pickup truck, fled into nearby woods, and was arrested about 10 minutes later; police recovered a Glock that was found jammed with a spent casing and keys linked to the carjacked vehicle.
- Grafton faces attempted murder, battery against a public safety official and auto theft charges while Samuelson was airlifted for an eight-hour surgery, remains in critical but stable condition, and has reunited with his K-9 as pretrial proceedings continue.