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Police Shoot Pinellas Park Man After He Points Guns At Officers
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Published: July 20, 2008
Police in Pinellas Park shot and killed a 44-year-old man who fired 30 shots while holed up in an apartment late Saturday night.
Two boys in the apartment fled minutes after Dallas Dwayne Carter opened fire with a handgun and rifle. The children, 8 and 13, were rescued by officers in the breezeway of the apartment building.
Carter, who police said had health and money problems, left a note in his apartment.
The gunman was the only person injured, the Pinellas Park Police Department said.
Police were called to the Shadow Run Apartments at 12001 Belcher Road about 10:58 p.m. Saturday when a man called 911 saying he had a gun and his boys were in bed. He hung up when the dispatcher asked his name.
A crisis negotiator tried to contact Carter by phone and was moving into a position to use a bullhorn when Carter began firing. He had a .40-caliber pistol and a .30-30 caliber rifle, police said.
The shots struck other buildings and walls and Carter continued yelling and firing in the direction of the officers.
At 11:32 p.m., Carter came out of the apartment, armed with both guns, pointing them at officers. Three officers opened fire with handguns and a rifle, police said.
They fired a total of 10 shots. Paramedics at the scene declared Carter dead.
The boys are with the state Department of Children and Families.
The three officers are on paid leave while the shooting is investigated by the Pinellas Pasco State Attorney's Office and the Pinellas Park Police Department.
One of the officers has been with the department 11 years, one for two years and one was hired nine months ago.
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