OHATCHEE, Ala. (WIAT) — A Calhoun County deputy is lucky to be alive after a woman he arrested was able to slip out of one of the handcuffs and attempt to shoot him.

Saturday morning around 3:32, a deputy conducted a traffic stop on Grayton Road South in Ohatchee. During the traffic stop, the deputy discovered a large amount of methamphetamines and a pistol in the vehicle.

The deputy arrested a man, Timothy Alan Wood of Wilsonville, and Brittany Nicole Yoder of Anniston for trafficking in methamphetamines and certain persons forbidden to possess a pistol.

While the deputy awaited the wrecker service to tow the suspect’s vehicle, Brittany Yoder began asking for the deputy for help, Sheriff Matthew Wade reports. As the deputy opened the patrol vehicle to check on the arrestees, Yoder immediately exited the patrol vehicle pointing a pistol at the deputy’s head. The deputy had restrained both subjects with handcuffs behind their back. However, Yoder was able to slip off one of the cuffs allowing her to obtain a pistol from Wood or herself. The deputy was able to deflect the weapon and fire his weapon striking Yoder. Wood did not attempt to leave the vehicle during the exchange.

The entire incident was captured on the deputy’s body worn camera. The camera footage clearly verified Yoder’s actions with the pistol, Sheriff Wade said.

Oxford Police Department and the Center for Applied Forensics were asked to conduct an independent investigation that is on going.

Sheriff Wade said, the deputy is physically unharmed, but he is lucky to be alive as Yoder did pull the trigger to kill the deputy.  The pistol did not have a round in the chamber, but the weapon’s magazine was loaded with live ammunition. Yoder was pronounced dead at the scene, the Calhoun County Coroner reported. She was 34 years old.