ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Two St. Petersburg police officers were shot and killed and a U.S. Marshall was wounded while trying to serve a warrant. The gunman may still be alive.
The shootings occurred shortly afte 7 a.m. at a home in the 3700 block of 28th Avenue South, according to police spokesman Michael Puetz.
Two of the officers were met at the front door by a woman who said the suspect was in the attic. One officer tried to get the suspect out of the attic and that's when he began firing.
A third officer went inside the house and tried to intervene, but he also was shot. One of the police officers and the U.S. Marshall managed to get out of the home.
The officer and the U.S. Marshall were taken to Bayfront Medical center. The third officer was inside the house for several hours with the suspect, who refused to give up. That officer was rescued after an armored vehicle equipped with a battering ram punched a hole in the house around 9:30 a.m. The officer was rushed away in an ambulance accompanied by a trauma surgeon.
Before the officer was brought out of the home, many shots were heard at 9:15 and then again around 9:20. Tear gas cannisters were fired as well.
Police Chief Chuck Harmon announced the passing of the two officers during an 11 a.m. news conference. Their names will be released at 4 p.m., Harmon said.
"This is devastating to me," said Harmon. "This is a chief's worst nightmare."
The U.S. Marshall, who has not been identified, is listed in stable condition with two gunshot wounds.
The gunfire continued for quite some time. ABC Action News reporter Don Germaise said so many shots were fired that, "I couldn't count them." Multi-Media journalist Eric Moore said , "In my 22 years of covering TV news, I've never heard so much gunfire."
Chief Harmon later confirmed that more than 100 rounds were fired.
The suspect, believed to be Hydra Lacy Jr. , apparently remains in the house and could still be alive.
Lacy is a sex offender with a violent criminal history.
"He was somebody we wanted to get off the streets, " Chief Harmon said. "Who expects to walk into a house and get gunfire from the attic?"
Police were in contact with the suspect on the phone at one point earlier this morning.
After the officer was brought out of the home around 9:30, there was no further contact.
The home, situated in a middle-class neighborhood on the south side of St. Petersburg, was listed in Lacy's name, according to property records.
A massive police and SWAT presence remains on scene. Multiple agencies are involved, including the Tampa Police Department and the FBI. An armored Homeland Security vehicle was seen entering the crime scene around 10 a.m.
Shortly before noon, Puetz said police were "Conducting a methodical search of the house." He said police were in the house, an indication that a robotic device and video cameras were being used to search the residence.
Thurgood Marshall Middle School, Lakeview Fundamental and Jamerson Elementary schools remain on lockout, which means no one is allowed to enter or leave the campuses. School activities are continuing as usual.
One neighbor said following the shootings, she and other residents were told to evacuate. "That was like CSI…pow pow pow…everybody was ducking."
Another neighbor, Grace Abernathy, had a similar story. "It was just pow pow pow. Then all of a sudden there were the sirens. You heard the sirens and it got crazy."
For members of the public wishing to leave expressions of sympathy for the two officers killed this morning, a location has been designated at Police Headquarters at 1300 First Avenue North, atop the exterior stairwayunder the portico.
Monday's shooting is the latest in a string of shootings of police officers and comes four days after two Miami-Dade County detectives were killed by a murder suspect they were trying to arrest. That suspect was killed by another detective.
The officers were being remembered Monday at a funeral, where news of Monday's shooting added to the grief already palpable among the thousands gathered at American Airlines Arena in downtown Miami.
On Sunday, a man opened fire inside a Detroit police precinct, wounding four officers including a commander before he was shot and killed by police. Authorities said the gunman walked in just after 4 p.m. and fired indiscriminately. The officers' injuries were not considered life-threatening, said Police Chief Ralph Godbee.
And on Monday, a Lincoln City, Ore., police officer was critically wounded when he was shot during a traffic stop. Oregon State Police said the officer had pulled the suspect over for speeding.
Two of the officers were met at the front door by a woman who said the suspect was in the attic. One officer tried to get the suspect out of the attic and that's when he began firing.
A third officer went inside the house and tried to intervene, but he also was shot. One of the police officers and the U.S. Marshall managed to get out of the home.
The officer and the U.S. Marshall were taken to Bayfront Medical center. The third officer was inside the house for several hours with the suspect, who refused to give up. That officer was rescued after an armored vehicle equipped with a battering ram punched a hole in the house around 9:30 a.m. The officer was rushed away in an ambulance accompanied by a trauma surgeon.
Before the officer was brought out of the home, many shots were heard at 9:15 and then again around 9:20. Tear gas cannisters were fired as well.
Police Chief Chuck Harmon announced the passing of the two officers during an 11 a.m. news conference. Their names will be released at 4 p.m., Harmon said.
"This is devastating to me," said Harmon. "This is a chief's worst nightmare."
The U.S. Marshall, who has not been identified, is listed in stable condition with two gunshot wounds.
The gunfire continued for quite some time. ABC Action News reporter Don Germaise said so many shots were fired that, "I couldn't count them." Multi-Media journalist Eric Moore said , "In my 22 years of covering TV news, I've never heard so much gunfire."
Chief Harmon later confirmed that more than 100 rounds were fired.
The suspect, believed to be Hydra Lacy Jr. , apparently remains in the house and could still be alive.
Lacy is a sex offender with a violent criminal history.
"He was somebody we wanted to get off the streets, " Chief Harmon said. "Who expects to walk into a house and get gunfire from the attic?"
Police were in contact with the suspect on the phone at one point earlier this morning.
After the officer was brought out of the home around 9:30, there was no further contact.
The home, situated in a middle-class neighborhood on the south side of St. Petersburg, was listed in Lacy's name, according to property records.
A massive police and SWAT presence remains on scene. Multiple agencies are involved, including the Tampa Police Department and the FBI. An armored Homeland Security vehicle was seen entering the crime scene around 10 a.m.
Shortly before noon, Puetz said police were "Conducting a methodical search of the house." He said police were in the house, an indication that a robotic device and video cameras were being used to search the residence.
Thurgood Marshall Middle School, Lakeview Fundamental and Jamerson Elementary schools remain on lockout, which means no one is allowed to enter or leave the campuses. School activities are continuing as usual.
One neighbor said following the shootings, she and other residents were told to evacuate. "That was like CSI…pow pow pow…everybody was ducking."
Another neighbor, Grace Abernathy, had a similar story. "It was just pow pow pow. Then all of a sudden there were the sirens. You heard the sirens and it got crazy."
For members of the public wishing to leave expressions of sympathy for the two officers killed this morning, a location has been designated at Police Headquarters at 1300 First Avenue North, atop the exterior stairwayunder the portico.
Monday's shooting is the latest in a string of shootings of police officers and comes four days after two Miami-Dade County detectives were killed by a murder suspect they were trying to arrest. That suspect was killed by another detective.
The officers were being remembered Monday at a funeral, where news of Monday's shooting added to the grief already palpable among the thousands gathered at American Airlines Arena in downtown Miami.
On Sunday, a man opened fire inside a Detroit police precinct, wounding four officers including a commander before he was shot and killed by police. Authorities said the gunman walked in just after 4 p.m. and fired indiscriminately. The officers' injuries were not considered life-threatening, said Police Chief Ralph Godbee.
And on Monday, a Lincoln City, Ore., police officer was critically wounded when he was shot during a traffic stop. Oregon State Police said the officer had pulled the suspect over for speeding.
Stay with abcactionnews.com for updates on this breaking story.