Deputy Sheriff Robert Wooten

Robert Wooten

Deputy Sheriff Bob Wooten and Deputy Sheriff Curtis Youngblood were shot and killed responding to a shooting call at 615 Elizabeth Street (present-day NE 19th Street) in Ocala at 5:30 p.m.

When they arrived at the house, they were met by a female who was waiting for them outside with a shotgun. While they were speaking with the woman, Deputy Wooton was ambushed by gunfire from inside the house. He was killed instantly. Deputy Youngblood dropped to the ground and was drawing his service weapon when he was shot in the chest.

The husband and wife held off responding officers for over an hour, opening fire as officers attempted to approach the house and retrieve Deputy Wooten and Deputy Youngblood. Assistant Chief Mahlon Tuck of the Ocala Police Department was fatally wounded while providing cover for another officer who placed tear gas in the home. Another deputy was shot in the face and neck, but survived his wounds.

Both were taken into custody. The man was declared insane and died while in a state mental hospital. The charges against the wife were dropped, and she moved out of state.

Deputy Wooten was a United States Navy World War I veteran. He was survived by his wife, who was the jail matron, and four children.