St. Petersburg police officer shoots, kills armed teen

ST. PETERSBURG - A St. Petersburg police officer shot and killed a 17-year-old Saturday night, after the teen refused to comply with several commands to drop a gun he had been firing, police said.

According to police, the teenager, Javon Maurice Dawson, of 1808 20th Ave. N, was one of several "young adults" who had gathered in the 3100 block of Freemont Terrace South, where a graduation party was being held nearby at the Shining Light Masonic Lodge.

Police responded to the area around 10:45 p.m., in response to a complaint about a loud party. Officers were patrolling the street and trying to break up the crowd when they heard several gunshots.

That's when St. Petersburg police Officer Terrance Nemeth saw Dawson "standing in the street, shooting a handgun," according to police spokesman Bill Proffitt. Nemeth "verbally challenged" Dawson several times before shooting him with his department-issued Glock .40 handgun. Police did not say how many times Dawson was struck.

Dawson ran a short distance before collapsing. He was pronounced dead at the scene and his family has been notified, police said. Police recovered his handgun at the scene, they said.

The St. Petersburg Police Homicide Unit and the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office are investigating the shooting, as well as the police department's Internal Affairs Division.

-- Rita Farlow, Times Staff Writer