PERRY, Fla — Hours after a statewide alert was sent to Floridians' phones, a Florida Blue Alert has been canceled for a man accused of shooting a sheriff's deputy.
Gregory Miedema, a registered sex offender in Sarasota, was the man sought after a Taylor County Sheriff's deputy was shot Tuesday night. At the time the alert was issued, authorities say Miedema had been last seen near U.S. 19 S near Deer Run Road in Perry.
Around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, FDLE canceled the Florida Blue Alert for Miedema.
The Franklin County Sheriff's Office identified the injured deputy as Troy Anderson in a post on Facebook. He was shot multiple times around 10 p.m. Tuesday night, the post reads.
Anderson reportedly was airlifted to the hospital for gunshot wounds to his jaw, neck and hand.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Deputy Anderson & family, as well as the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, as they support their loved one & co-worker," the sheriff's office wrote.
More details are expected to be released during a planned 2 p.m. news conference with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Taylor County Sheriff's Office and Dixie County Sheriff's Office.
Miedema is a registered sex offender, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office.
In 2011, he was convicted of one count of lewd or lascivious battery, intercourse with a victim 12 to 15 years old and one count of possession of child pornography while serving in the Army.
He was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison followed by two months of probation, authorities say.
A Florida Blue Alert is issued when a law enforcement officer is killed, seriously injured or missing in the line of duty and there's still an imminent threat to the public.
A Blue Alert is broadcast through the state's Emergency Alert System to phones, television, radio and message boards across the highway.