A Florida sheriff’s deputy was released from the hospital on Monday, a month after he was shot in an “ambush” attack that killed one deputy and left him and another deputy wounded, according to reports. 

Deputy First Class Stefano Gargano, 28, and Master Deputy Sheriff Harold Howell, 41, were both shot when they attempted to rescue Master Deputy Bradley Michael Link after he was shot and became trapped inside a home in Eustis, Florida, while the deputies were responding to a welfare check request.

“They were ambushed,” Lake County Sheriff Peyton C. Grinnell said at the time. “We lost one tonight.”

Link later died of his injuries at a hospital. Gargano, who was shot in the stomach and armpit “numerous” times, was in critical condition after the shooting and immediately underwent surgery. 

FLORIDA WOMAN ARRESTED FOR AMBUSH MURDER IN KILLING OF DEPUTY, CLAIMED SHE WORKED FOR GOD

Howell was shot in the shoulder and was released early last month. 

Gargano underwent at least five surgeries in the last month and is expected to make a full recovery, FOX 35 reported. 

Gargano is now at home with his family recovering, according to the station. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Lake County Sheriff’s Department. 

Julie Sulpizio, 48, has been charged with first-degree murder, premeditated murder of a law enforcement officer, seven counts of attempted murder, felony battery/strangulation, two counts of battery and battery on a law enforcement officer in the shooting. 

She could be eligible for the death penalty if she’s found guilty. 

Master Deputy Bradley Michael Link died in the shooting.  (Lake County Sheriff’s Office)

The deputies found the back door kicked in and heard a disturbance inside the home after seeing two dead dogs outside. When they entered the home, deputies were met with gunfire by Sulpizio’s husband, Michael, who was waiting inside with a rifle and wearing body armor. Link was shot and became trapped inside the home and later succumbed to his injuries.

Grinnell explained that a caller said a woman, later identified as Sulpizio, was attacking people and trespassing on their property. Sulpizio allegedly hit residents and made religious comments, accusing them of being sinners.

In a later interview with investigators, Sulpizio said she was attempting to lure these neighbors to her home, so her husband could kill them, Grinnell said.

Master Deputy Sheriff Harold Howell, 41, was released from the hospital in early August.  (Lake County Sheriff’s Office)

“She was not successful because of our deputies,” he said.

Sulpizio and Michael’s two daughters, Savannah and Cheyenne, were also inside the home, and one was heard shouting, “My King will kill all of you! You are Lucifer’s children!”

Julie Sulpizio, 48, has been charged with first-degree murder, premeditated murder of a law enforcement officer, seven counts of attempted murder, felony battery/strangulation, two counts of battery and battery on a law enforcement officer in the shooting.  (Lake County Sheriff’s Office)

Link’s body camera footage showed that Michael and his daughters discussed suicide before they were all found dead with gunshot wounds to their heads, the sheriff said. 

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The sheriff said deputies during a search of the home found a stockpile of guns, ammunition and bottled water, but no phones or televisions. The sheriff said “anti-government propaganda” and material from conspiracy theory-related media was also discovered.

Fox News’ Landon Mion contributed to this report. 

The Boston College Eagles football team officially kicks off its season on Labor Day Night with a game against the No. 10 Florida State Seminoles at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla.

According to the ESPN Matchup Predictor, Florida State has an 82.4-percent chance to come out of the game with a victory, while Boston College has a 17.6-percent chance.

Below are the game predictions from the Boston College Eagles On SI staff.

Score Prediction: Florida State 28, Boston College 24.

Bonus Prediction: QB Thomas Castellanos tallies at least 300 yards.

Boston College is going to come out aggressive and compete until the clock hits 0:00, but Doak Campbell is one of the hardest stadiums to play in for a reason. Plus, the Seminoles have already played a game this year and have had the opportunity to fix what needs to be improved prior to the game. I believe the Eagles will be improved from 2023 and make it close, but Florida State will pull it out.

Score Prediction: Florida State 32, Boston College 24

Bonus Prediction: Jayden McGowan scores a touchdown of 20 yards or more.

FSU losing to Georgia Tech was really shocking, but there are enough reasons to think it was a fluke. New quarterback. The game was in a different country. So, I’m sure the Seminoles will come into tonight’s game motivated to prove they’re still one of the best teams in the country. But Boston College is better than many people think and with a group of experienced players that’s becoming rare in college football, an upset isn’t as crazy as it sounds. Thomas Castellanos will be the biggest key for the Eagles. If he’s running and throwing the ball successfully, the Eagles win. I think Castellanos will play well, but it won’t be enough to overcome a FSU team playing angry.

Score Prediction: 28-20 FSU

Bonus Prediction: The Eagles have a lead going into halftime.

Both teams come into this game with a completely different mindset. The Eagles are opening up the Bill O’Brien era while the Seminoles look to get back on track after an upset loss to Georgia Tech in Ireland.

Boston College is coming off a 7-6 season a year ago, the program’s first winning season since 2020. O’Brien also brings a wealth of coaching experience, and his offensive game plan is simple.

Georgia Tech torched FSU in the run game, and BC starting quarterback Thomas Castellanos rushed for nearly 1,000 yards last year. Florida State was exposed in week zero, and O’Brien will likely try to exploit that.

Boston College may not win that game, but they will cover the spread and put a scare into Florida State.

Critically acclaimed horror author Stephen King has reacted passionately after finding out Florida banned 23 of his books from school libraries.

In 2022, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation in the state banning books in schools that included any kind of sexually explicit material. The decision was driven by complaints from groups like Moms for Liberty. Republicans, including DeSantis, have said the legislation prevents students from obtaining books that are not age-appropriate, but critics view the law as an attempt to stifle discussion about issues including race and the LGBTQ+ community in public schools, raising concerns that this law may censor many topics.

Now after allegedly hundreds of titles were banned from school libraries, six major book publishers have sued the state of Florida. The lawsuit was filed on Thursday by Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers and Sourcebooks and argues that Florida’s law violates First Amendment rights to free speech.

King is no stranger to sharing his social and political opinions on social media and on Saturday, he responded after finding his books have been included in the ban, with his name also being mentioned in the lawsuit.

“Florida has banned 23 pf [sic] my books. What the f***?” the author wrote on X, formerly Twitter. At the time of writing, his post had been viewed 12.5 million times.

Newsweek emailed spokespeople for King and DeSantis for comment on Monday.

As with most of King’s posts, this post has proven to be divisive. Some people have shared their support for King and disapproval of the ban.

“MAGA: ‘Reading is dangerous. It’s like math but with letters,’” one person commented.

“If this is the Collier County Public Schools ban then apparently they’ve banned Updike, Hemingway, Vonnegut, Neil Gaiman, Arthur C. Clarke, and novels likes [sic] Catch-22 and Brave New World. You’re in great company, Mr King,” said another.

“We’re working on taking back Florida and making sure they keep their bans off our bodies AND our books!” wrote Barbie Harden Hall, a Democratic nominee for U.S. Congress.

However, others have supported King’s books being banned, with one person writing: “Babe, elementary school kids don’t need to be reading The Shining. It’s not personal. It’s parenting.”

“Did they develop a sense of taste?” asked another.

Numerous books, including Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls, Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl, have been pulled from school libraries since the book ban went into effect in July 2023. According to the publishers, popular contemporary novels by writers like Margaret Atwood, Judy Blume and King have also been removed.

The historic lawsuit targets the “sweeping book removal provisions” of House Bill 1069, which required school districts to set up a mechanism for parents to object to anything they deemed inappropriate or pornographic. The lawsuit also names the Authors Guild and several individual writers as plaintiffs.

“Florida HB 1069’s complex and overbroad provisions have created chaos and turmoil across the state, resulting in thousands of historic and modern classics, works we are proud to publish, being unlawfully labeled obscene and removed from shelves,” Dan Novack, vice president and associate general counsel of Penguin Random House, said in a statement.

“Students need access to books that reflect a wide range of human experiences to learn and grow. It’s imperative for the education of our young people that teachers and librarians be allowed to use their professional expertise to match our authors’ books to the right reader at the right time in their life.”

The lawsuit claims that the book removal provisions violate earlier rulings by the Supreme Court regarding the evaluation of works for their literary, artistic, political and scientific value while taking into account any potential obscenity.

However, according to the BBC, Florida officials have said the lawsuit is a “stunt” and have denied that the state has banned books.

“There are no books banned in Florida. Sexually explicit material and instruction are not suitable for schools,” said Florida Department of Education spokesperson Sydney Booker.

Earlier this year, a lawsuit was filed by a local teacher and PEN America that challenges the Escambia County School Board’s removal of approximately 200 books from school libraries, citing violations of free speech and educational rights. However, the school board contends that under a 2023 Florida law, it has the authority to decide which books are appropriate for students.

In a March 2023 statement, DeSantis spoke about the book-banning legislation: “In Florida, pornographic and inappropriate materials that have been snuck into our classrooms and libraries to sexualize our students violate our state education standards. Florida is the education state and that means providing students with a quality education free from sexualization and harmful materials that are not age appropriate.”