Hillsborough deputy injured in shooting

TAMPA - A close call saved a deputy's life this morning.

Deputy Paulo Santos-Rizzo walked away with only minor injuries after a bullet struck his cruiser, shattered a window and brushed past his head.

"It's very clear that this gentleman intended to kill our deputy," HCSO Major J.R. Burton said.

Hillsborough County deputies responded to the Shadow Oaks Apartments in Florida Avenue in North Tampa around 4 a.m. after hearing reports of two men breaking into cars.

When they arrived the men took off running and deputies followed.

"As one of the suspects was crossing Florida Avenue running west, he pulled a handgun and fired on one of our deputies." Burton explained.

The bullet missed Deputy Santos-Rizzo, a 3-year veteran, by just inches. The 30-year-old was injured, but only by broken glass.

Investigators said a K-9 deputy tracked down Jeffrey Lee Ervin, 21, hiding behind a house and still armed.  The K-9 bit Ervin because he would not let go of the gun, deputies said.

But the other man still on the loose and led detectives to conduct a massive manhunt most of the morning.

"We are doing a ground search, two K-9 dogs on the ground at this time attempting to locate the second suspect," Burton said.

Neighbors who heard the shots and saw the flashing lights knew it was something serious.

"We heard a loud pop about ten seconds later another loud pop. My mom asked me if it was fire crackers, and I said 'no I think that was gunshots,'" one witness said.

The massive search has been called off, but deputies are still trying to track down the second man.

"We just ask that everyone be vigilant. We do have a description of this suspect that we can release and if anyone sees him please call the sheriff's office," Burton said.

The man is described as 5'8", 165 pounds, with a short cut afro. Deputies believe he is in his late teens and he was last seen wearing jeans and a dark-colored shirt.