Shooter fires through restaurant window, kills 2 deputies

TRENTON, Fla. -- Two Florida sheriff's deputies were killed in the line of duty Thursday in an apparent ambush as they dined at a restaurant.

Gilchrist County Sheriff Bobby Schultz, told ABC News that approximately 3 p.m., two deputies were shot and killed in the Ace China restaurant in downtown Trenton, after a suspect walked up to business and fatally shot both deputies through the window.

When fellow deputies responded to the scene, they found the shooter dead outside the business, Schultz said.

Earlier, the sheriff's office said on Twitter that the department has "suffered a terrible tragedy," and that residents should stay away from an area of Trenton.

Trenton is in northern Florida, about 35 miles west of Gainesville.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi released a statement Thursday evening saying the two deputies were "senselessly killed."

Schultz said the incident remains an active investigation with no apparent motive or indications as to why this tragedy occurred.

Schultz identified the slain deputies during a news conference as Sgt. Noel Ramirez, 30, and Deputy Taylor Lindsey, 25.

"Sgt. Ramirez and Deputy Lindsey were the best of the best," Schultz said. "They were men of integrity, men of loyalty. They were God-fearing, and they loved what they did, and we are very proud of them."

Schultz said he rushed to the scene as soon as he heard about the shooting. He said it's important to remember that attacks like Thursday's can happen anywhere, even in small cities like Trenton.

"After 26 years of doing this, there is nothing that can prepare you for senseless deaths," Schultz said.

The shooter's name wasn't immediately released.

The Holmes County Sheriff's Office, in the Florida panhandle, wrote on social media that: "about an hour ago, two deputies with the Gilchrist County Sheriff's Office were shot and killed in a suspected ambush. Please keep the families of these deputies, Sheriff Bobby Schultz, and the rest of their law enforcement family in your prayers."

The Associated Press and ABC News contributed to this report.