Crime & Safety
St. Pete Cop Witnesses Drive-By Shooting, Catches Alleged Shooter
No one was shot, including a 7-year-old who was home at the time, and the alleged shooter and driver were quickly captured by a St. Petersburg Police officer who saw the whole thing.
A St. Petersburg Police officer witnessed a drive-by shooting as it unfolded late Sunday night, then captured the alleged shooters soon after, according to officials.
Officer Ryan Larson observed the shooting as it was occurring outside a home in the 900 block of 23rd Avenue South shortly after 11:30 p.m.
Larson saw one person lean out of the front passenger window of a gray Ford Tempo and open fire into a residence that was occupied at the time by six people, including a 7-year-old child, police said. A seventh person was outside the home.
The residence was "riddled with bullet holes," Lt. Antonio Gilliam, police spokesperson, said in a media release, but no one was shot. The only injuries reported came from shattered glass as bullets entered the home, Gilliam said.
The car involved in the shooting was then stopped along 23rd Avenue South, where officer Larson subdued the driver and passenger at gunpoint before backup arrived.
The alleged shooter, 19-year-old Del'Juan McKenzie of First Avenue South, and the car's driver, 23-year-old Latoria Martin of Seventh Avenue South, were taken into custody and face several counts of attempted homicide, police said.
Two semi-automatic firearms were found inside the vehicle, and several spent shell casings were in the street, authorities said.
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