Fort Lauderdale Police Officer Shot; Another Man Killed at Scene

A Fort Lauderdale Police Officer was shot in the parking lot at Maguire Hill's 16 Irish Pub Thursday night in what Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel described as a “gun battle.”

According to Sheriff Israel, the initial call came in around 7:40 p.m. The incident started off as a disturbance between a white male identified as Richard Arruda and white female inside a vehicle at the parking lot of the Maguire Hill’s pub, BSO said. The pub is located on the 500 block of Andrews Avenue in Fort Lauderdale.

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At some point the female approached Shotwell to ask for help. Arruda got out of the vehicle and there was a gun battle between him and off-duty Fort Lauderdale Police Detective Mark Shotwell. Sources told NBC 6 that Shotwell approached Arruda to talk to him and identified himself as a police officer before the shooting started.

Arruda died at the scene from his wounds.

Shotwell was taken to Broward Health Medical Center. Fort Lauderdale Police confirmed that Shotwell is in critical but stable condition.

"I know the officer very well," said Fort Lauderdale mayor Jack Seiler. "He's an outstanding officer. He has had a tremendous career with the city of Fort Lauderdale. He is a guy that has served this city well."

Sheriff Israel said in the interest of transparency, the Fort Lauderdale Police Department asked the Broward Sheriff's Office to take over as the lead investigative agency on the case. Mayor Seiler said he is confident that an investigation by the Broward Sheriff's Office will show Shotwell's decision was the right one.

"I think that's going to make it very clear that our officer handled the situation correctly," Seiler said.

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According to Sheriff Israel, there were approximately 40-50 people inside the pub when the gun battle happened and dozens still have to be interviewed during the investigation.

Since the shooting was reported, other law enforcement and rescue agencies have been tweeting about the situation.

Keep #FLPD officers in your thoughts and #prayers this evening especially the injured officer. They risk their lives every day for us.#FLFR — FLFR PIO (@FtLaudFire) July 4, 2014