{"id":111980,"date":"2026-01-09T16:40:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T16:40:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/111980\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T16:40:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T16:40:06","slug":"police-to-give-update-friday-on-sergeants-recovery-after-getting-shot-twice-in-the-face","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/111980\/","title":{"rendered":"Police to give update Friday on sergeant&#8217;s recovery after getting shot twice in the face"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS12)  \u2014 The Port St. Lucie Police Department will hold a press conference on Friday at 3:30 p.m. to provide an update on Sergeant Erik Levasseur, who was critically injured in the line of duty on December 1, 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Levasseur <a href=\"https:\/\/cbs12.com\/news\/local\/port-st-lucie-sergeant-returns-home-after-37-days-in-hospital-multiple-surgeries-following-two-gunshot-wounds-to-face-port-st-lucie-police-department-florida-news-january-8-2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">was released<\/a> from HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital on Wednesday and continues his recovery at home, according to PSLPD. <\/p>\n<p>On<a href=\"https:\/\/cbs12.com\/news\/local\/port-st-lucie-officer-shot-near-town-park-community-in-tradition-taken-hca-florida-lawnwood-hospital-florida-december-2-2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> Dec. 1, 2025<\/a>, 32-year-old Frankie Salvatore Riccio emerged from a garage in a Port St. Lucie neighborhood, armed with an AK-47-style rifle and<a href=\"https:\/\/cbs12.com\/news\/local\/port-st-lucie-sergeant-awake-alert-after-surgeries-for-gunshot-wounds-to-the-face-port-st-lucie-police-department-south-florida-treasure-coast-news-town-park-community-at-tradition-trauma-intensive-care-unit-at-hca-florida-lawnwood-hospi-december-11-2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> opened fire<\/a>. LeVasseur was struck twice in the face\u2014one bullet near his nose and another beneath it\u2014injuries that narrowly avoided major arteries and brain trauma. Officers returned fire, discharging 62 rounds in a firefight that ended with Riccio dead at the scene.<\/p>\n<p>LeVasseur was rushed to a nearby hospital, where surgeons stabilized his airway and repaired facial injuries. He later underwent eye surgery to remove shrapnel and, on December 9, doctors extracted additional bullet fragments. Reconstructive and eye surgeries were also planned to improve his outlook.<\/p>\n<p>Medical staff confirmed no brain damage. On December 15, PSLPD announced his transfer to a confidential <a href=\"https:\/\/cbs12.com\/news\/local\/florida-sergeant-moved-to-rehab-following-successful-surgeries-for-gunshot-wounds-to-face-port-st-lucie-police-department-sergeant-erik-levasseur-december-15-2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">rehabilitation facility<\/a>, emphasizing that the move was appropriate for his recovery and that privacy remains a priority.<\/p>\n<p>See also:<a href=\"https:\/\/cbs12.com\/news\/local\/fireball-on-the-turnpike-truck-with-over-240-propane-tanks-explodes-in-st-lucie-co-florida-news-firefighters-blaze-photo-gallery-turnpike-alert-january-8-2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> Fireball on the Turnpike: Truck with over 240 propane tanks explodes in St. Lucie Co.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Chief Leo Niemczyk and department representatives are expected to share details about Levasseur\u2019s condition and next steps during the briefing at police headquarters. The department emphasized that, per the family\u2019s wishes, all media inquiries should be directed to the Public Information Office.<\/p>\n<p>Levasseur\u2019s injury drew widespread support from the community and law enforcement agencies across the state. Friday&#8217;s update is anticipated to shed light on his progress and the department\u2019s plans moving forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 The Port St. Lucie Police Department will hold a press conference on&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":111981,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":{"0":"post-111980","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-port-st-lucie","8":"tag-port-st-lucie","9":"tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","10":"tag-port-st-lucie-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111980"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111980\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}