TRENTON, Fla. – Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Noel Ramirez and Deputy Taylor Lindsey were meeting for a late lunch one year ago when a man carrying a rifle entered the Ace China restaurant in downtown Trenton.
“There was no crime in progress, no disturbance," Sheriff Bobby Schultz said. "Noel and Taylor, both on duty and in uniform, were shot from inside the business."
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After firing at least seven shots, the 59-year-old loner who didn't know the deputies and wasn't on the radar of local law enforcement walked back to his Jeep and turned a gun on himself.
Marking one year since the tragedy, the county held a candlelight vigil Friday evening at Memorial Park at the Gilchrist County Courthouse. The ceremony brought together friends, family and strangers to reflect on the lives of the two men.
"What defined them was the type of character they had, and the type of character they showed people," Schultz said. "The emotions are still raw here. In some aspects, it's been twenty years."
Ramirez, 29, left behind a wife and two young children. Lindsey, 25, lived in Gainesville and had been with the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office for three years.
"Taylor was living his best life," said Lindsey's mother. "He followed his heart. He lived his passions, and he fulfilled his calling."
The deputies will have their names inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington.