Sheriff's spokeswoman Phyllis Stephens said the deputies were answering a call to a domestic disturbance at 208 Gail Ridge Lane in the Candlewick subdivision when shots were fired.

Deputy Jeff Martin, who has been with the sheriff's department four years, was injured and taken to WakeMed in Raleigh where he was expected to be treated and released, Stephens said. Officials at WakeMed said Martin was in good condition late Thursday.

Also injured was Mark Brandon Zareski, 56, and his wife, Diane Zareski, 28, of 208 Gail Ridge Lane. Both were transported to WakeMed in Raleigh, where Mark Zareski was undergoing surgery, Stephens said. According to a WakeMed offiical, Mark Zareski was in critical condition late Thursday. The condition of Diane Zareski was not immediately available.

Brian Buckner, who lives at 207 Gail Ridge Lane, said he was at home around 7:40 p.m. when Diane Zareski knocked on his door. She had been beaten, Buckner said, and was bleeding so badly that she left blood on his front porch and in his kitchen.

"She said, 'He wouldn't let me go, he wouldn't let me go. Finally I escaped,'" Buckner said.

Buckner called 911, but before deputies could arrive, Mark Zareski shot several times at Buckner's house. So, he called 911 a second time and told them to hurry.

Buckner said that the deputies parked near some pine trees and when he went out to meet them, Zareski began shooting again from the house. The deputies yelled for Buckner to go back in his house and he did. From inside his house, Buckner said he heard Zareski yell at the deputies, "You're gonna have to kill me."

Neighbors described Zareski as a quiet man, who lived with his wife and elementary school-aged daughter. They said he kept to himself, but often could be seen standing at the bus stop with his daughter each day until the bus arrived to take her to school.

Buckner said the daughter was at dance practice, not at home, Thursday evening.

The Candlewick subdivision, according to property records, is a neighborhood with home values ranging from $125,000 to 165,000. Buckner said it is a quiet, stable neighborhood where many of the residents have lived for years.