A Florida sheriff’s deputy survived being shot three times when a car burglary call evolved into a backyard gunfight, according to the St. Petersburg Police Department.
The man accused of firing the shots, 23-year-old Zion Bostick, was killed when another deputy returned fire, police said in a news release.
Wounded Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Corporal Matthew Aitken, 40, was listed in stable condition Monday, March 13, officials said.
Sergeant Jacob Viano, 49, with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office was identified as the officer who shot Bostick. He is on administrative leave pending an investigation, officials said.
The shooting happened shortly before 7 p.m. on March 12 when deputies were alerted to a vehicle burglary on 60th Avenue North, in an unincorporated area of Pinellas County.
A suspect was spotted by Aitken and his dog, Taco, and they began tracking the man on foot through a wooded area into a fenced backyard, officials said.
“Aitken saw the suspect attempting to conceal himself around an exterior corner of the house (and) verbally challenged the suspect,” the police department reports.
“The suspect immediately fired several rounds at Corporal Aitken, hitting him three times. Sergeant Viano saw the suspect shoot Corporal Aitken and then the suspect turned and immediately fired multiple rounds at Sergeant Viano, who was able to duck out of the way. Sergeant Viano regained his footing and fired back.”
Bostick was struck and died at the scene, officials said.
Aitken was taken to Bayfront Health in St. Petersburg, where he remained hospitalized on March 13, officials said.
Investigators report Bostick was found in possession of two guns, one “reported stolen out of Manatee County.”
Details of Aitken’s injuries were not revealed. He has been with the department since 2006, officials said.
Viano was hired in November 2000, officials said.
St. Petersburg police are leading the investigation into the shooting “through the Pinellas County Use of Deadly Force Investigative Task Force,” officials said.