Officials: 2 hostages rescued after kidnapping overnight in Central Florida; suspect shot, killed

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - Law enforcement said two women have been rescued and are being treated for their injuries in Central Florida after they were reportedly kidnapped and held hostage by an armed man late Saturday, who led authorities in pursuit and was ultimately killed in a shoot-out with deputies.

The investigation spanned across Osceola, Indian River, and Brevard counties, according to Facebook Live video posted to the Brevard County Sheriff's Office Facebook page.

In an update, Sunday afternoon, the Brevard County Sheriff's Office identified the suspect killed as Curtis Kimbrough, 42, of Cocoa Beach. BCSO said Kimbrough had a lengthy felony record and was recently released from the Florida Department of Corrections after serving a five-year sentence for trafficking methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

The Osceola County Sheriff's Office said the incident began Saturday when its deputies were called out to Magnolia Court in Okeechobee for a reported shooting. When deputies arrived to the area, the shooting victim and Kimbrough were no longer in the area. A BOLO or a "be on the lookout" was issued to surrounding agencies.

In an online news release, the Indian River County Sheriff's Office contacted the Brevard County Sheriff's Office around 8 p.m. Saturday, and said it was in pursuit of a vehicle that was potentially connected to the kidnapping incident out of Osceola County and that there may be a hostage inside who had been shot.

Officials said Kimbrough fired multiple rounds at Indian River County deputies. His vehicle crashed in Brevard County near Old Dixie Highway and Foley Lane in Grant, which is about 80 miles southeast of Orlando. 

At that point, one of the women was able to run away from the vehicle, authorities said. Kimbrough then exited the vehicle and held the second woman at gunpoint and proceeded to walk into a wooded area nearby.

"First thing I saw was a car come flying down the road, and a few sheriffs behind him, and they went around here, into the other yard over here, they must have pursued him over there," Cody Laster, a witness, told FOX 35 News on Sunday, "There were multiple, multiple units that came, there had to be twenty people that responded."

Law enforcement said several agencies followed the two via the air "until a team of officers were able to intercept them." At some point there was an "exchange of gunfire" and the suspect was killed and the second woman was rescued.

Authorities said the 41-year-old woman, who was the victim of the shooting in Osceola County, remains in a hospital in serious condition. The hostage victim, a 33-year-old woman, was treated at a hospital and has since been released, BCSO said. 

All deputies and police officers are safe, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said. 

The incident remains under investigation.