NC SBI investigate shooting that left Franklin County deputy injured

FRANKLIN COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NC SBI) is looking into a shooting that left a deputy injured Thursday night.

According to NC SBI, Jermaine Anthony Branch, 40, and two Franklin County sheriff's deputies exchanged gunfire during a pursuit on East River Road near Louisburg. The incident left Branch and one deputy, Taylor Lucas, injured.

Both were taken to hospitals. According to the sheriff's office, Lucas has since been released from the hospital.

Sheriff Kevin White wrote on Facebook saying Branch "came within a fraction of a millimeter of ending Deputy Taylor Lucas' life. Deputy Lucas was shot at point-blank range, directly in the heart of his chest. Were it not for his breastplate, he would have died instantly."

The SBI investigation is ongoing, and further details will be released as they become available.