13-year-old boy arrested after shooting Lakeland Police officer in the foot

A Lakeland Police officer is in the hospital after being shot in the foot by a 13-year-old boy on Wednesday.

The 13-year-old boy is currently at Tampa General Hospital after the officer managed to shoot him three times, hitting him in the stomach, the left thigh and leg.

On Thursday, the Polk County Sheriff's Office held a press conference where Sheriff Grady Judd gave details about what led to the shooting of the officer. He revealed the 13-year-old boy's name was Wesley Damas, who was riding around in a white vehicle with 14-year-old Leonard Speight Jr. and 19-year-old Jermaine Julian.

The white vehicle belonged to Julian's mother, Judd said during the press release.

Judd said the Lakeland Police officer, Officer Smith, responded to a shooting call on Kettles Avenue near Simpson Park. Judd said Officer Smith rushed to the scene, where video caught by Smith's bodycam showed Damas rushing to get into the white vehicle after seeing the patrol car.

It's unclear who Damas was initially shooting at before Officer Smith's arrival, Sheriff Judd said.

Judd said, the three suspects then sped off and led Officer Smith on a short pursuit.

All three suspects eventually jumped out of the car, fleeing from Officer Smith on foot. Judd said after the three suspects left the car in motion, causing it to sideswipe someone else's vehicle.

The video shows Officer Smith pursuing Damas, who had a gun with him, on foot. Damas runs behind a building while Smith is chasing him, turns while running and shoots at Officer Smith three times. One of the bullets hit Smith in the foot.

"Wesley Damas intentionally tried to murder a police officer," Judd said, during the press release.

Officer Smith continued to pursue Damas and found him hiding in the bushes. That's when Smith shot at the 13-year-old boy.

The three suspects all fled in different directions. Judd said Julian was arrested near the crime scene. Speight was arrested later in the evening after making it home in West Lakeland, Judd said.

Further details revealed that there were two guns found. Two stolen Taurus 9 mm semi-automatic handguns. The first one was used to shoot Officer Smith in the foot, and the second was found under the right passenger seat of the car. Judd said the gun found in the car belonged to Speight.

The sheriff's office said both guns were stolen.

Judd also revealed that all three of the suspects were convicted felons. Julian had a total of prior arrests, with four violation of probation felonies and three felony criminal charges.

Speight and Damas were previously arrested for breaking into someone's car. A condition of their probation was that they were not supposed to be together, Judd said.

"They're burglars. They go out at night, they break into cars, open car doors, and take guns. When you leave your gun in the car, they're stealing it and then shooting up neighborhoods," Judd said.

The Lakeland Police Chief Sam Taylor said Officer Smith has two broken bones in his foot and is expected to make a full recovery.