Alabama shooter Michael Jansen kills deputy Scott Ward, wounds another

A man shot and killed one Alabama sheriff's deputy and critically wounded another when they went to his home near Fairhope on a report that he was acting aggressively toward family members, authorities said on Saturday.

The shooter, Michael Jansen, also was killed in the exchange of gunfire on Friday afteoon, the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Baldwin County Sheriff Huey Mack told reporters that the deputies responded to a report that Jansen had "been confrontational with some family members" and were speaking with him at his home near Fairhope, about 15 miles southeast of Mobile.

Deputy Scott Ward of the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office in Alabama is pictured in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters November 24, 2012.

"While the deputies were on scene and talking to the individual, the individual produced a handgun and began firing at the deputies," Mack told reporters.

A third deputy at the scene was not wounded.

The two deputies suffered multiple gunshot wounds and were taken to USA Medical Center in Mobile, where Deputy Scott Ward was pronounced dead and the second deputy, who has not been identified, was listed in critical condition, the sheriff's office said.

Ward served as a sheriff's deputy for 15 years.

"I'm very proud of him, it's a big loss," Mack told reporters. "But he was doing his job and we'll pull together in a time like this and we'll honor his memory by carrying on."

The shooting is being investigated by the Baldwin County Major Crimes Task Force, he said.