WALTON, Ky. — Two Boone County sheriff's deputies who were shot last week while serving a warrant in Walton are "in good spirits" and recovering from their injuries at home, according to Major Philip Ridgell.
The deputies were serving a felony warrant regarding overdue child support at an apartment on Service Road just after 10 p.m. on August 28 when Ridgell said they were met with "heavy gunfire."
During a press conference Wednesday, Ridgell identified the two deputies as Gerald Mitchell Wilmes and Kyle Florer. Both were shot with a 40-caliber Glock pistol, Ridgell said.
WATCH: More on how the deputies are recovering after the shooting
Both deputies are 30 years old; Wilmes was shot in both of his legs while Florer was shot multiple times in the chest, Ridgell said.
Florer's bulletproof vest was crucial to his survival, according to Ridgell.
"He took a shot right up near the upper part of his chest and without that vest it would have been an utter tragedy, likely," said Ridgell. "You hate to even say it, but it's the truth that instead of being discharged, we could have been planning their funeral."
Watch the full press conference in the player below:
Wilmes is a Boone County Sheriff's Office veteran, while Florer just joined the department in July, Ridgell said. Wilmes was field training Florer the night of the shooting, according to Ridgell.
"There is a road to recovery for both of them, I'm sure mentally and physically," said Ridgell. "They're two really tough individuals and they've displayed that and we are proud of how they've responded to this incident."
He also added that tourniquets carried by Boone County deputies were crucial to the wounded deputies' survival.
Still, Ridgell said the deputies are recovering and have received an outpouring of support from the local community, other law enforcement and from businesses in the area.
"They're in good spirits, of course surrounded by family, friends, this agency," said Ridgell.
The man who shot them, 39-year-old Justin Chapman, knew he was firing on law enforcement officers, according to Ridgell.
In line with protocol, Ridgell said at first just two deputies arrived at Chapman's door that evening to serve him with an arrest warrant. When Chapman communicated with the deputies through a doorbell speaker that he had no intention of coming out or letting the deputies in, those deputies contacted their supervisors.
From there, the police response grew and more law enforcement joined the attempt to get Chapman out of the home.
Video sent to us by a neighbor showed the moments deputies breached the door of the home and entered moments before what sounds like gunshots can be heard. You can watch that below:
For 30 minutes, law enforcement attempted to call Chapman out of the home while repeatedly announcing who they were and why they were there, Ridgell said. Deputies did eventually kick in the door, but Ridgell said they again announced themselves as law enforcement after that.
"He knew when he pulled the trigger that it was law enforcement at the bottom of the stairs," said Ridgell.
He added that Chapman clearly confessed and stated he knew he'd shot at least one, if not more, of the deputies in a Facebook live video he made that night; Ridgell said the sheriff's office has and is reviewing that video, in which Chapman also clearly dies by suicide.
Ridgell also said Florer did return fire at Chapman, but Chapman's autopsy has indicated none of those shots hit him; Chapman's injuries have all been determined to be self-inflicted, according to Ridgell. Previously, Ridgell said he did not believe any of the deputies involved that night had fired their weapons.
The investigation remains ongoing, and Ridgell said deputies' body camera footage won't be released until interviews for that investigation are completed. He estimated that could take a couple of weeks.
After Florer was discharged from the hospital on Friday, officials shared video of Wilmes being escorted as they left the hospital Monday night.
"The team at UC Medical Center is incredible and we are forever grateful," the sheriff's office said. "We have felt the outpouring of support from the community. Thank you all."
Ridgell also said Friday the sheriff's office is thankful the two do not have more serious injuries.
Watch our full coverage of the shooting:
"This is something that they, themselves and their families, this is a worst nightmare type of situation," Ridgell said during a press conference directly after the shooting.
Ridgell said Chapman remained barricaded inside his apartment as multiple SWAT and law enforcement agencies worked to get him out. He did not respond to the team's attempts to establish communication with him and SWAT deployed gas canisters into the inside of the home.
When Chapman did not appear to react to the gas, deputies navigated a drone into the home and found him lying unresponsive in a second-floor bedroom. After entering the home, SWAT team members determined he was dead from "an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound."
Court records show suspect had previous charges
Boone County court records show that in the last 16 years, Chapman had a history of cases involving failure to pay child support, resisting arrest and domestic violence.
In 2009, a Walton woman sought a protection order after she said Chapman threw her to the floor while she was holding their 5-month-old baby. She also said he told her "time and time again that if he could get away with killing her, he would."
WATCH: Suspect in Boone County deputy shooting had lengthy history
That case was dismissed, but in 2010, the same woman got a protective order after Chapman was arrested for assaulting her in Gallatin County. The 2010 case indicates the two had three children together.
Chapman was described in various court records as a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq and was undergoing treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. In 2009, he was charged with resisting arrest when officers tried to arrest him for violating a protective order.
Between 2011 and the night of the shooting, Chapman faced three separate cases for failing to pay child support, including two cases in which deputies said he slammed the door on them when they tried to serve a warrant.
WATCH: Major Ridgell explains how law enforcement serves warrants for non-violent, non-criminal offenses
Ridgell told reporters this particular warrant had been active "for some time." Deputies had previously tried to execute a warrant for Chapman "several months ago" and were unsuccessful, he said.
