Deputy Sheriff Rupert Holliday Peete, Jr.

Rupert Holliday Peete, Jr.

Deputy Sheriff Rupert Peete was shot and killed after being ambushed by a man who had just murdered two firefighters at a home at the intersection of Germantown Road and Bay Hollow Cove.

The firefighters had been ambushed by the same man after responding to a house fire. As they approached the burning structure, the man came out of the home's garage and opened fire with a shotgun, killing both firefighters.

Deputy Peete, who was responding to the scene of the shots-fired call, was shot before exiting his patrol car. Other deputies arrived on the scene and shot the subject after he refused to drop his weapon. A fourth victim was found dead in the garage.

The subject was a firefighter who had just returned to duty after being on disability. On April 24th, 2006, the man was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Deputy Peete was a U.S. Army veteran and had served with the Shelby County Sheriff's Office for three years. He is survived by his wife and three children.