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St. Petersburg Police Report 16 Incidents Of Stray Gunfire
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Published: January 2, 2008
Updated: 01/02/2008 02:57 pm
ST. PETERSBURG - In a single half hour during New Year's Eve festivities, bullets presumably fired into the air in celebration returned to earth, hitting two people and narrowly missing two others, police say.
At 12:08 a.m. Tuesday, David Tyson Mink, 23, of Clearwater, was walking with some friends in the 700 block of Third Ave. S. when he felt "something hard" hit him on the left shoulder, St. Petersburg Police Department spokesman George Kajtsa said. It knocked him to the ground, and at first he thought it was fireworks, but then he and a friend noticed a bullet sticking out of his skin. They continued to the friend's house and called police.
At 12:24 a.m., Ronald and Victoria Jean – he's 40; she's 36 – were sitting in their house at 608 Kingston St. S. when a bullet pierced a back window, penetrated a wooden door and entered a bedroom where it got tangled up with a wedding dress hanging in a closet. Police have categorized it as a stray bullet fired during New Year's Eve celebrations.
At 12:36 a.m., Henry J. Thompson, 19, was sitting in an enclosed porch at 3091 Melrose Ave. S. when a bullet punched through the porch's metal roof and barely missed him before ending up on the floor.
At 12:38 a.m., 14-year-old Caprica Woodard was sitting in a chair outside 2303 Seventh St. S. when a bullet struck her in an upper thigh and remained lodged there. She was taken to All Children's Hospital, Kajtsa said.
All told there were 16 incidents of falling bullets striking people, structures or cars, said Kajtsa.
Based on past experiences, more reports of such incidents are expected to roll in as residents who have been out of town return after the holidays to find their homes or cars had been struck with bullets, authorities said.
Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.
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