Sgt. Scott Lewis, who has been with the sheriff's office for 11 year, was shot in the chest and the upper left leg. The shot to the chest struck Lewis' body armor and body camera.

Nienhuis said Lewis was in "a tremendous amount of pain," but doctors were able to stop the bleeding from his leg wound. He is expected to recover.

"Fortunately, he was wearing fairly heavy body armor at the time, so he did not penetrate the skin," said Nienhuis. "By the grace of God, it did not hit any major arteries."

Following the shooting, deputies did not return fire because they could not see Cusati, Nienhuis said. Cusati evenutally was taken into custody.

The suspect faces the following charges: 

• Attempted murder of a law enforcement officer
• Aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer
• Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
• Possession of ammunition by a convicted felon
• Shooting into an occupied vehicle
• Resisting arrest with violence

Cusati is also expected to face additional narcotics charges, the sheriff's office stated.

"If you’re selling drugs in Hernando County, you’re probably going to get an early morning wake up call from my SWAT team," said Nienhuis.

"If you shoot at deputies and they have a target, they’re going to shoot back, and you’re probably not going to survive that, particularly the SWAT team. So this particular individual is very, very lucky," he added

The incident is under investigation.