Sheriff: Man who kidnapped girlfriend wounded in shootout with deputies in east Orange County

Orange County deputies wounded a domestic abuse suspect in a shootout Friday morning on the county’s east side, according to Orange County Sheriff John Mina.

The suspect, 19-year-old Bryce Theygan Weir, survived the shooting and was arrested, Mina said.

No deputies were injured. Mina said Weir had forced his girlfriend at gunpoint to drive to a 7-Eleven store on North Econlockhatchee

Trail near East Colonial Drive just before 8 a.m. Friday. At the store, the girlfriend was able to get out of the vehicle and call 911.

Weir ran from the vehicle heading north on Econlockhatchee Trail.

When deputies caught up with him walking along the road, Weir fired at two deputies, who returned fire, hitting him in the leg, Mina said. After the shooting, Weir again ran away, and deputies continued to chase him, using a helicopter to scan the area until they found him behind a home, officials said.

There Weir surrendered, and deputies recovered his gun, a Glock with a high-capacity magazine.

Weir was taken to a hospital for his leg injury, and will later be booked into the Orange County Jail.

Mina said he has a “prior history,” and had been arrested in January following a fight with his girlfriend. Weir was arrested in that case and was out of jail on bond when Friday morning’s shooting occurred, Mina said.

“I’m glad he’s off the street and I hope he remains behind bars,” Mina said.

According to his arrest report from the earlier incident, Weir and his girlfriend got into a fight the morning of Jan. 11. Weir responded by pulling out a gun, loading it, then slowly driving away while firing the gun, the report said. He shot at his girlfriend’s friends, firing multiple times and hitting two women

and two vehicles, authorities said. The women were injured but survived.

Weir was booked on two counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, two counts of criminal mischief and resisting an officer. He was initially held without bail. But at his initial court appearance, Circuit Judge Alicia Latimore eliminated the bail requirement and ordered Weir’s release, records show.

Two days later, Latimore added conditions: He could not have any hostile contact with the victim, return to the scene of the crime or possess any firearms, records show.

Mina said the two deputies involved in Friday’s shooting had 2 years and 8 years of experience at the agency. He did not identify them by name. One deputy sustained a minor injury from a dog bite during the incident.

Mina said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement will conduct an investigation of the shooting, and then the Sheriff’s Office will conduct its own internal review. The two deputies are on paid administrative leave pending the FDLE findings.

The man’s girlfriend, who was not identified, was not injured. She is 20 years old, Mina said.