An Osceola deputy

shot and wounded a teenage auto-theft suspect early Saturday, the Sheriff ’s Office says.

An Osceola County Sheriff’s Office deputy shot a teenage auto-theft suspect early Saturday.

Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson said a 17-year-old boy is in a local hospital in stable condition after driving a stolen vehicle toward a deputy, who then shot him. A 15-year-old female passenger was not hurt.

Officials shut down State Road 429 in both directions between Sand Hill Road and U.S. Highway 192 as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigated the shooting, according to the Sheriff ’s Office.

The shooting happened in that area at about 3:30 a.m. after the Sheriff ’s Office was called in to help the Lakeland Police Department with a report of a suspect driving a stolen vehicle, the Sheriff ’s Office said.

Deputies set out spike strips along S.R. 429 near Sinclair Road aiming to pop the stolen vehicle’s tires and stop the teens, according to the Sheriff ’s Office.

Gibson said it’s unclear whether the teens knew deputies — who were in unmarked cars — were behind them.

“The Osceola Sheriff ’s Office was not in a pursuit whatsoever. No lights or sirens were activated,” he said. “If he would have fled, we would have disengaged completely.”

The 17-year-old avoided the spike strips, swerving around them, which ultimately caused the vehicle to spin out in the grassy median.

As a deputy started to get out of his unmarked car to approach the boy, the Sheriff ’s Office said, the 17-year-old drove toward him. In return, the deputy fired his gun at the vehicle.

The suspect was injured in the incident and was taken to a local hospital for treatment, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The 15-year-old girl was arrested. No one else was injured. The Orlando Sentinel is not naming the teens because they are juveniles. The Sheriff’s Office did not release the name of the deputy.

Gibson said the boy’s injuries are “not life-threatening whatsoever.” He said he was glad the incident was not fatal.

“All life is precious. They have a mother or a father, and if they don’t, they have someone who loves them,” he said. “They’re young and not thinking, in my opinion.”

Gibson noted that a “4,000-pound vehicle” is a weapon, and that he was proud of the action the deputy took.

“That is definitely a threat on the deputy’s life and he had no choice but to do what he did,” he said.

Gibson said the incident was an example of how officers must make decisions “in a split second.”

“We’re dealing with the unknown at all times,” he said. “We have to understand that we don’t know what to expect when we go to a routine call.”

Both teenagers face charges of grand theft auto. The boy also faces a charge of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, Gibson said.