CLEARWATER, Fla. — A man barricaded himself inside a home Sunday night after police received reports of gunshots in the area.
According to officials, Clearwater Police arrived at a house on Ridge Avenue around 7 p.m. on Jan. 1 after the initial call regarding the gunshots. There, they found the suspect, James Albert Wassman, 60, firing shots.
One of the first officers to step foot on the scene was grazed in the arm by a bullet.
The SWAT team, negotiator team and multiple officers managed to get Wassman to surrender around 10:45 p.m. He exited the house after SWAT team members fired gas canisters at it.
Clearwater Police stated that Wassman is now in custody and that the officer who was shot was taken to Morton Plant Hospital but has since been released.
Wassman was charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer in the first degree, discharging a firearm in public, and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. He was booked into the Pinellas County Jail.
This is a developing story and will be updated when more information is available.
