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Two Kissimmee Police Officers Shot And Killed Friday

Officer Matthew Baxter (L) and Officer Sam Howard (R) were shot Friday night in the line of duty. Photo: Kissimmee Police Department
Officer Matthew Baxter (L) and Officer Sam Howard (R) were shot Friday night in the line of duty. Photo: Kissimmee Police Department

Two police officers are dead in Kissimmee after being shot last night. Police have a suspect in custody.

Officer Matthew Baxter and Sergeant Sam Howard were responding to a suspicious persons call when they were surprised by gunfire, according to Kissimmee Police Chief Jeff O’Dell. The shooting happened around 9:30 p.m. Friday at McLaren Circle in Kissimee.

The two were transported to Osceola Regional Medical Center. Both Baxter and Howard died from their injuries.

Video from the crime scene helped located the suspect about two hours after the shooting. Chief Jeff O’Dell says Everett Miller was apprehended and will be charged with first degree murder.

“He will be transported to the Osceola county jail and he will be wearing officer Baxter’s handcuffs,” he said Saturday morning.

The two officers were wearing police uniforms and body armor. Chief O’Dell says the officers weren’t able to return fire.

Chief O’Dell said the investigation was still active. He said the department receives many calls to the area the officers were shot.

Officer Baxter, 27 years old, was married to another police officer on the force and had four children. Howard, 36 years old, was married with one child. The City of Kissimmee is collecting donations for their families.

Two officers in Jacksonville were also shot Friday. One officer was in critical condition, the other in stable condition after the incident. A suspect in that case was shot and killed.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates. An earlier version of this story misspelled Everett Miller's name.

Brendan Byrne is WMFE's Assistant News Director, managing the day-to-day operations of the WMFE newsroom, editing daily news stories, and managing WMFE's internship program.

Byrne also hosts WMFE's weekly radio show and podcast "Are We There Yet?" which explores human space exploration.