ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A man hiding in the attic of a home sparked an intense firefight with authorities trying to arrest him on a warrant Monday morning, killing two officers and wounding a deputy U.S. Marshal, police said.
St. Petersburg Police Chief Chuck Harmon said more
than 100 rounds were fired during the shootout, which was the latest in a
recent rash of shootings across the nation that have killed or wounded law
enforcement officers.
The officers had come to arrest Hydra Lacy Jr., 39,
on an aggravated battery charge, and investigators believe he is the one who
opened fire on the officers, police spokesman Michael Puetz said. He said Lacy
had a long record that includes convictions for armed robbery and sexual
battery.
As of midday, the shooter was still barricaded
inside the home, police said.
"He was somebody we wanted to get off the
streets, " Harmon said. "Who expects to walk into a house and get
gunfire from the attic?"
Harmon would not identify the dead officers pending
notification of their relatives.
The marshal was shot twice but was doing fine,
Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Tom Figmik said.
When the officers and the marshal arrived at the
house, they were told by a woman that Lacy was in the attic. The three called
for backup, and at that point, one officer and the marshal were shot, Puetz
said. He said the other officer was shot while he tried to rescue the wounded
men.
Puetz said authorities had sporadic contact with
the suspect and had cut off the home's electricity and water.
"We are taking this slowly and
methodically," he said.
Earlier, police used a vehicle to punch a hole in
the wall to get to one of the officers who later died, Puetz said.
Police said the woman at the house was safe and
with officers.
The home, situated in a middle-class neighborhood
on the south side of St. Petersburg, was listed in Lacy's name, according to
property records. After the shootout, a Department of Homeland Security armored
tactical vehicle was parked nearby, as dozens of law enforcement officers
congregated on nearby streets.
Court records show Lacy failed to show for his
scheduled trial Nov. 1 on the aggravated battery charge, and an arrest warrant
was issued the next day.
State records show Lacy has a lengthy record,
including 1989 convictions for armed burglary, resisting arrest with violence
and other charges. He was released from prison 1991. In 1992, he was convicted
of sexual battery with a weapon or force and false imprisonment of a child. He
was released in from prison 2001. Details on those convictions were not
immediately available.
Monday's shooting is the latest in a string of
shootings of police officers and comes four days after two Miami-Dade County
detectives were killed by a murder suspect they were trying to arrest. That suspect
was killed by another detective.
The officers were being remembered Monday at a
funeral, where news of Monday's shooting added to the grief already palpable
among the thousands gathered at American Airlines Arena in downtown Miami.
On Sunday, a man opened fire inside a Detroit
police precinct, wounding four officers including a commander before he was
shot and killed by police. Authorities said the gunman walked in just after 4
p.m. and fired indiscriminately. The officers' injuries were not considered
life-threatening, said Police Chief Ralph Godbee.
And on Monday, a Lincoln City, Ore., police officer
was critically wounded when he was shot during a traffic stop. Oregon State
Police said the officer had pulled the suspect over for speeding.
Associated Press writer Christine Armario
contributed to this report from Miami.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
(AP
Photo/Chris O'Meara)
