Suspect dead, officer hospitalized after shootout in South St. Pete, Pinellas sheriff says

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A St. Petersburg police officer was shot and a second officer was injured during a shootout in South St. Pete Wednesday afternoon.

The suspect was also shot and later died at the hospital, according to Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.

Detectives with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Use of Deadly Force Investigative Task Force are investigating the officer-involved shooting. The sheriff said after a preliminary review of the scene and witness statements, they put together a rough timeline of what happened.

Officers with the St. Petersburg Police Department Special Investigation Unit were trying to locate 20-year-old Dominique Harris, who was wanted for child abuse related to an incident in October where he allegedly body-slammed a 15-year-old at a basketball court, according to the sheriff.

Plain-clothes officers said they spotted Harris in a vehicle parked at a food store on 18th Avenue South. Harris' brother was inside the food store when the officers at the scene called for uniformed officers to respond.

The marked patrol car officer arrived and asked Harris for his ID. After confirming Harris was the suspect they were looking for, Harris refused commands from officers to get out of his vehicle, but instead rolling up his window and trying to flee.

After hitting marked and unmarked police vehicles, as well as a civilian vehicle, Harris started firing a handgun out of the window of his vehicle.

Sheriff Gualtieri said Harris fired and hit a detective in the lower torso. The detective was undergoing surgery and expected to survive.

Officers returned fire, striking Harris. He later died at the hospital, Gualtieri said.

Gualtieri said five or six officers fired at Harris during the incident. Another officer was injured during the incident but was not hit by gunfire.

Shortly after the shooting, the view from SkyFOX showed the roads near 1400 18th Ave. S were shut down and the Food Max market at that location was ringed with crime scene tape.

Stay with FOX 13 for any updates.