Six police officers were shot, two of them fatally, in three separate incidents in Florida and Pennsylvania on Friday night.
While responding to a call complaining of suspicious activity, two Kissimmee, Florida police officers were shot in what Police Chief Jeffrey O’Dell described as an "ambush."
One of the officers, Matthew Baxter, 27, died of his injuries shortly after.
The other, Sgt. Sam Howard, 36, was gravely wounded and died Saturday afternoon.
In a press conference, O'Dell said the police officers were conducting a “consensual encounter to get out and check" at the time of the shooting.
“Nobody was being placed in handcuffs,” O'Dell said. “If all things checked out, the officers would have been on their way.”
Everett Miller, 45, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
#BREAKING: We just got this new mug shot for 45yo Everett Miller. He's charged w/ first degree premeditated murder… https://t.co/4f6DfIkMoh
"Let me be very clear – last night’s violence against our law enforcement community is reprehensible and has no place in our state," Florida Gov. Rick Scott said in a statement. "Florida has zero tolerance for violence and we will not accept hatred for one second."
Scott also made it clear that he would push prosecutors to seek the death penalty against Miller, signing an executive order Saturday evening to remove state attorney Aramis Ayala, a vocal opponent of capital punishment, from the case.
The move comes amid a lawsuit over Scott's previous efforts to take Ayala off death penalty cases. Ayala is suing the governor in Florida Supreme Court, arguing there is no law that requires her to pursue the death penalty in criminal cases.
On Saturday, Scott assigned Brad King, Florida state attorney for the fifth judicial district, to take over the Miller case.
President Donald Trump tweeted that his "thoughts and prayers" were with the Kissimmee Police Department.
My thoughts and prayers are with the @KissimmeePolice and their loved ones. We are with you! #LESM
In an unrelated incident later that night, two officers were shot in Jacksonville, Florida, while responding to a call about a suicide attempt.
One of the officers is in critical condition, and the other is stable. Their names have not been released.
According to Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Director Mike Bruno, the officers were shot by a man with a high-powered rifle who began shooting through a door before they entered the house.
The suspect was shot by police and later died.
Three other people, who were reportedly hiding in a back bedroom, were not injured.
"We often talk about the inherent dangers of police work, but tonight those dangers were all too real for these officers," Bruno said at a press conference.
Here's a pic from the scene where 2 state troopers were shot & a suspect killed in Fairchance, Fayette Co. near Sho… https://t.co/zUcbmHsbJM
Two state troopers in Fairchance, Pennsylvania, were also shot near a Shop 'n Save grocery store, according to a local NBC station.
Both officers, whose names have not been released, are reportedly stable. The suspect was killed in the incident.