Teen shot in leg during St. Petersburg home invasion

ST. PETERSBURG -- A 17-year-old teenager told police he was pistol-whipped and then shot by two men who broke into his home late Thursday night.

The incident happened in the 2200 block of 21st Street S, police said. The unidentified victim said he was playing video games in his room around 10:08 p.m. when he heard a loud "bang" in the rear of the house.

He walked out of his room and saw two men entering his home through the back door. One of the suspects wielded a large revolver, the teen said.

The teen said he tried to run for the front door, but one suspect grabbed him and they started fighting. Then the other suspect hit the teen in the back of the head with the gun.

The two suspects then rifled through the house, the teen said, looking for cash. The teen emptied his pockets for the men.

But as the suspects left, the teen chased them outside. That's when the armed suspect shot the teen in the left leg, police say.

The victim's condition was unknown today. Police ask anyone with information about the incident to call (727) 893-7780.

-- Jamal Thalj, Times staff writer

Comments

[Paul]

But wait,

Didn't our chief say all is well?

Check the crimes, then check where they occur. NUF SAID

[JR]

Hmmmm, I'm staring to see a pattern here. The last article I just read about the dude shot in the head was at this location: 15th Avenue S and 22nd Street. It seems if you want to get "Welcomed to the Jungle Baby, Your Gonna Die!" that you head over to about 9th ave. south to 28th ave south and anywhere from 10th street south down to 31st south or so your chances of getting robbed or shot go up dramatically. You know, they usually stay away from their own neighborhoods but....it's getting desperate out there.

[TFA]

ARM YOURSELF AND SHOOT BACK. THE ONLY GOOD CRIMINAL IS A DEAD CRIMINAL. EVERYBODY SHOULD CARRY AND TAKE BACK OUR STREETS. L.E. IS TOO BUSY 24/7 AND NEEDS OUR HELP.

[Rob]

South St. Pete: I love this place!

[Smplyred]

Well thanks JR guess I can't go home huh? SSP isn't bad ALL OVER. The area I live in is quiet and well kept. Most folks in the neighborhood own their homes and the ones that rent don't tend to stay long because foolishness won't be tolerated. Unfortunately I can't say the same for certain other blocks or streets in the surrounding area. It's easy for readers to claim it's all bad but those who actually live there know where to beware of.

Stories like this can depend on the who, what, when and where. Remember there are always more details to a story than you see. Most home invasions are premeditated meaning there was a reason for someone to have wanted to break into this particular home. Note that story is vague. Vague on the location, description of the robbers, robbers looking only for cash (why would they be looking for cash in particular) when you'd be thinking electronics, jewelry, ANYTHING of value but they specifically were looking for cash???? As in they knew there would be cash there worth robbing the home for.

[Ripper]

This has more drug overtones than the guy shot in the head. The guys came looking specifically for money.......hmmmm...I wonder who he owed money to

[Wiseguy]

The reason I just got my carry permit. Carjackings, home invasions, thugs on the prowl, etc. Take the class learn how to be safe and handle your weapon. Then practice to become the best shot ou can be, my instructor said "don't aim to wound" the crooks won't be aiming to wound you.

[barry]

To the comment by smplyred; Yes there are many well kept areas in south st pete where home owners take pride in their property and there are a low number of violent crimes , but check the property crime numbers...Residential burglaries and stolen autos are high. See the problem with st pete is that just 5 mins away from any nice area is crap. trash white or black and they can come to the nice neighborhood hit a few houses and drive 2 miles back to their area with your stuff....