UNION, Ky. (WXIX) - The owner of a landscaping business says he is thankful his crew is okay after they came under gunfire in a Northern Kentucky neighborhood .
Around 1 p.m. on Thursday, the Boone County Sheriff's Office reports that an unidentified man began shooting from his home on Saunders Lane at landscapers as they were unloading equipment.
The landscapers work for Nature's Way Complete Grounds, according to the company's owner, Mark Toole.
The Triple Crown The home where the gunshots came from was one that residents described as in disarray, with grass standing a foot high, but Toole said his crews were not there to work on that home.
“I guess when my guys pulled up, I guess maybe he thought we were there to cut his grass because it was so tall,” Toole said.
As it turns out, the crews were there to cut the grass at a neighboring home, according to Toole.
Two guys got out of the truck, one guy was in the truck, and he started firing on them," Toole told FOX19 NOW. "He fired once into the truck right close to where the guy was sitting in the driver’s seat, and then he fired through the trailer, and the other two guys were on the other side.
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The crew ran for cover, using their truck as protection while waiting for the Boone County Sheriff’s Office to arrive.
I was more concerned about my guys than anything," Toole said. "I was in the neighborhood, so I got to them pretty quick. When they were pinned down outside the truck, I was on the phone with them, talking.
The sheriff's office said that when they arrived, the suspect shot at deputies and Florence police officers.
The deputies exchanged fire with the suspect, causing him to retreat and barricade himself in his home, according to the sheriff’s office.
This prompted authorities to issue a "shelter-in-place" order, instructing residents to stay inside.
A standoff lasting for hours with deputies and a SWAT team ensued.
"He retreated, then barricaded himself for two to three hours, ultimately surrendering when they deployed gas canisters," said Boone County Sheriff's Office Major Philip Ridgell.
The sheriff's office said that's when the suspect surrendered to the SWAT team.
After he surrendered, it was discovered that the suspect sustained a gunshot wound to the chest, the sheriff’s office said.
He was flown to the University of Cincinnati Hospital and is expected to survive.
The landscapers were not injured, and neither were any law enforcement members.
Toole said he’s grateful the Boone County Sheriff’s Office responded so quickly and is pleased with their response.
In the 40 years this family-owned business has been operating, Toole said they have never experienced anything like this before.
As for the suspect, the Boone County Sheriff’s Office said they won’t release any information about him until he is discharged from the hospital.
It is unclear when that will be.
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