Suspect shot in face, hospitalized in officer-involved shooting in St. Pete
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — A suspect is in the hospital following an officer-involved shooting on Saturday.
The suspect, identified as Germaine Small, 28, was at the Shadyside Food Mart at 4200 15th Avenue South in St. Pete, armed with a 9MM Glock handgun with a 50-round drum magazine.
The St. Petersburg Police Department said the shooting occurred at 5:30 p.m. when he fired into the home of an older blind man in the 1600 block of 40th Street South.
Small then fled on foot and was located by Officer Dale Johnson in the area of 1711 40th Street South. Officer Andre Sousa arrived and ran after Small on foot when the suspect turned around and fired at Officer Sousa, who returned fire.
The suspect was shot in the head, hitting him in the face, towards the ear. The injuries are not life-threatening and he is in stable condition, officials said.
The officer was not injured.
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Small was taken into custody. He has a lengthy criminal history, as he is a convicted felon who was just released from the state prison on March 2 after serving nine years for armed robbery.
“There has to be consequences,” the police chief said about Small in a press conference Saturday night. “It’s very frustrating. These career criminals have no regard for life, shooting at people, shooting at cops.”
It is still unknown as to why the suspect fired into the home.
Due to an officer using deadly force, the Pinellas County Use of Deadly Force Investigative Task Force will investigate the incident.
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