Prosecutors in Lakeland, Florida are asking the state attorney to charge a 13-year-old boy as an adult after he nearly killed an officer during an exchange of gunfire.
The boy was involved in a shooting near Lakeland Park when he, a 14-year-old accomplice, and a 19-year-old Jermaine Julian got into a vehicle and fled the scene.
Officer Jamie Smith chased the suspects in his police cruiser and then on foot pursuing the armed 13-year-old as he ran through a residential neighborhood.
At one point, the teen ambushed the officer as he turned a corner striking him. The officer, despite his wounds, kept chasing the boy who hid in bushes.
Authorities said that the boy fired again at the officer who returned fire, hitting the juvenile's leg and abdomen. He is currently recovering at a hospital.
“He has no regard for life. None. Zero,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.
“He may be 13 years old chronologically but he's a hardened criminal willing to shoot it out with cops.”
