Two Maryland sheriff's deputies were fatally shot and a suspect killed on Wednesday in a shootout at a Baltimore-area Panera Bread restaurant filled with lunchtime customers. (Reuters) 
 
 Two Maryland sheriff's deputies were fatally shot and a suspect killed on Wednesday in a shootout at a Baltimore-area Panera Bread restaurant filled with lunchtime customers. (Reuters) 
 
 Two Harford County sheriff’s deputies were killed in Maryland on Wednesday by an armed man who entered a Panera Bread restaurant at lunchtime. 
 
 The gunman was fatally shot by authorities after he shot the two deputies. 
 
 Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler announced the deaths of two members of his department Wednesday afternoon. 
 
 “They’re both two outstanding deputies who served the citizens of this county for 16 and 30 years respectively,” Gahler said. 
 
 He did not identify the deputies because he said their extended families had not been notified. 
 
 The sheriff’s office identified the armed man as David Brian Evans, 67. They said that he was wanted on a warrant from Florida for assaulting a police officer there, as well as on a civil writ issued in Harford County. 
 
 Gahler said Evans entered a Panera in Abingdon during the busy lunchtime rush Wednesday. At 11:46 a.m., someone called the police to say that a man was behaving suspiciously in the restaurant. 
 
 When a deputy arrived, Evans shot the deputy and then ran out the door. 
 
 “I think the suspect took that action because he was wearing a police uniform,” Gahler said of the deputy who was shot. “He certainly targeted him.” 
 
 People who saw Evans running away pointed authorities in the right direction, sheriff’s office spokeswoman Cristie Kahler said. 
 
 Gahler said that a deputy found Evans almost immediately, down the hill from the restaurant. Evans then shot that deputy. 
 
 The next two deputies who arrived then fired at the gunman, fatally wounding him. Both of those deputies have been placed on administrative leave while the department investigates the shooting. 
 
 Gov. Larry Hogan (R) issued a statement Wednesday night about the deputies’ deaths. 
 
 “Today’s violence in Abingdon and the deaths of two Harford County sheriff’s deputies is nothing less than absolutely heartbreaking,” he said. “The First Lady and I send our most sincere thoughts and prayers to the families and loved ones of the brave deputies who made the ultimate sacrifice today for the community they selflessly served. 
 
 “It is my hope that their commitment and dedication to law enforcement and protecting others will be remembered and will forever serve as an inspiration to others,” Hogan said. 
 
 Gahler said that no one inside the Panera, which was full of lunchtime diners, was hurt. He said authorities interviewed everyone in the restaurant before allowing them to leave. 
 
 He said that the sheriff’s office has had contact with Evans before, but he did not provide further information. 
 
 Maryland lost three officers in the line of duty in 2015, and Virginia lost one, according to statistics from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. 
 
 The organization, which said that 124 officers nationwide died in the line of duty in 2015, said that 42 of those officers were shot. Traffic fatalities accounted for 35 of the remaining deaths. 
 
 Julie Tate contributed to this report. ||||| Two Maryland sheriff's deputies were killed today in a shootout with a gunman that began at a crowded restaurant, according to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office. 
 
 “Today is a sad day for the Harford County Sheriff's Office and citizens of Harford County,” Sheriff Jeff Gahler said. 
 
 Bel Air Volunteer Fire Co. draping black ribbon on @Harford_Sheriff HQ for fallen deputies @ABC2NEWS pic.twitter.com/PUhcLhKxfX — Mike Seitz (@MikeyABC2) February 10, 2016 
 
 The deputies were responding to a call at a crowded Panera in Abingdon, Maryland, around 11:45 a.m. when they were fired upon. The suspect injured one of the officers and fled the scene. The second deputy followed in pursuit and was also wounded. 
 
 Additional deputies onsite exchanged gunfire with the suspect and fatally wounded him. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Both of the deputies died at the hospital. 
 
 MOMENTS AGO: procession of law enforcement leaves Shock Trauma while @BaltimorePolice salute @Harford_Sheriff pic.twitter.com/93ZCMaVFwb — Dakarai Turner ABC2 (@Dakarai_Turner) February 10, 2016 
 
 While the officers’ identities have not been released, Gahler said that one was a 30-year veteran and the other a 16-year veteran of the force. 
 
 The suspect has been identified by police as 68-year-old David Evans. He had two outstanding warrants--one of which was a Florida criminal warrant for assaulting a police officer. That incident is still under investigation. 
 
 Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan released a statement on the shooting, saying it was "nothing less than absolutely heartbreaking." 
 
 In a statement to ABC News, Panera’s corporate office said they are “heartbroken over today’s incident.” 
 
 “Our thoughts and actions now are directed towards the victims and their families,” the statement said. “This location will remain closed as we work with law enforcement to investigate.” ||||| Two sheriff’s deputies were shot and killed Wednesday at a busy Maryland shopping center by a gunman who was also killed in the resulting shootout, authorities said. 
 
 The identities of the deputies have not been released. 
 
 The suspect, identified as 67-year-old David Evans, had outstanding warrants in two states for his arrest, including for assaulting an officer in Florida, officials said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. 
 
 The second warrant was issued in Harford County, Maryland. 
 
 Remarkably, no bystanders were hurt in the exchange of gunfire, Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said. 
 
 The first shooting took place inside a Panera restaurant in a shopping center in Abingdon, which is about 20 miles northeast of Baltimore. 
 
 Sophia Faulkner, 15, said she and her mother were getting lunch and almost sat right next to the gunman. Instead, they chose a booth about 10 feet away because the man appeared "sketchy" and disheveled. He was sitting in the back and hadn't ordered any food, Faulker and her mother said. 
 
 A sheriff's deputy was called to the restaurant after a report about someone causing a problem. The deputy tried to talk to the man, who was apparently known to workers. The deputy sat down beside him, asked how he was doing and the man shot him in the head. The deputy later died at the hospital, officials said. 
 
 "I saw him fall back out of his chair and the blood started coming out," Faulkner said. "I didn't know how to process it. My mom said, `What's going on?' and I said, `Get down, someone just got shot."' 
 
 She said "everyone started screaming" after the gunshot and children -- out of school because of snowfall -- were running around. 
 
 "I was freaking out so much and everybody was running to one side of the store. Families were huddling together. I didn't really know what was going on," she said. "You see this stuff online and in movies and on TV when it happens, but you never think you're going to go out to lunch one day with your mom and it's just going to happen." 
 
 The gunman fled and witnesses gave officers a description and the direction he was headed, the sheriff said. After at least one deputy caught up with him, shots were exchanged, leaving the second deputy wounded and the suspect dead, the sheriff said. The second deputy later died at the hospital. 
 
 "I saw two women and a child run from Panera to our back door. They were hysterical. They said they heard gunshots," said bartender Mike Davis, who was working at the Ocean City Brewing Co.'s Taphouse. "We locked the door and went to talk to a cop. The cop said not to let anyone in. Then, we heard more gunshots, `Pop, pop, pop, pop,' from down in the shopping center. It was hectic." 
 
 The sheriff said investigators believe the person acted alone and there is no further threat to the community. 
 
 "The restaurant was very full at lunchtime," Gahler said. "Thankfully, no one else was injured." 
 
 The shopping center is called the Boulevard at Box Hill. It has a mix of shops, restaurants, a grocery store and a bank. 
 
 Yellow tape blocked off the Panera and Taphouse restaurants, but people were coming and going freely at other businesses after the shooting. 
 
 Click for more from Fox 45.
– Two sheriff's deputies are dead after a man opened fire in a busy Panera Bread during lunchtime Wednesday in Maryland, Fox News reports. According to the Washington Post, a deputy was called to the restaurant because a man was acting suspiciously. Fifteen-year-old Sophia Faulkner, who had decided against sitting near the man, described him as "sketchy." The deputy arrived and sat next to the man to talk to him, and the man shot him in the head. "Everyone started screaming," Faulkner tells Fox. "I was freaking out so much, and everybody was running to one side of the store. Families were huddling together. I didn't really know what was going on." The man took off running. A second deputy caught up with the suspect and was shot, ABC News reports. He later died at the hospital. Two more deputies arrived at the scene and fatally shot the suspect. Sheriff Jefrey Gahler says he believes the first deputy was shot because he was wearing a uniform. The identities of the deputies have not been released. “They’re both two outstanding deputies who served the citizens of this county for 16 and 30 years respectively,” the Post quotes Gahler. The suspect has been identified as 67-year-old David Evans. He was wanted on two outstanding warrants, including one for assaulting a police officer in Florida. No citizens were injured during the shootings.