Man Critically Injured in Shooting at the Wawa in Pinellas Park
On June 10, 2017 at approximately 10:42 p.m. Pinellas Park Police patrol units responded to a shooting call in the parking lot of Wawa located at 6200 34th Street North in Pinellas Park, Florida.
At this time, the investigation detectives have confirmed that the shooting victim, 25 year-old Ryan Dahill of St. Petersburg, was inside the Wawa in the late night hours of Saturday night and was being disruptive with other customers inside the business. Dahill exchanged words with the 26 year-old Ernest Russ of Pinellas Park inside the business after which Russ and a couple of friends exited the store and were waiting in the parking lot for some food they had ordered.
According to investigators, Dahill exited the store and again exchanged words with Russ while in the parking lot. At some point following this verbal exchange Dahill caught Russ off guard with a punch to the face. Russ fell to the ground and saw that Dahill was standing over him. This is when Russ pulled out his handgun and shot in the direction of Dahill striking him once. Dahill ran to the back of the parking lot area and was picked up by his girlfriend who drove him to the area of 54th Avenue and 34th Street N where they were located by police.
Dahill was taken to a local hospital where he remains in critical but stable condition following surgery.
Investigators believe that Dahill was the aggressor in this situation however they have not yet been able to speak with him because of his medical condition. At this time, the investigation is ongoing and there is the possibility that charges could follow based on the final medical condition of Dahill and the outcome of the overall investigation.
IONTB has obtained information that Russ had an out of state permit to carry and detectives are working to confirm its validity in the State of Florida.
No further updates are expected unless there is a change in the medical condition of Dahill.
Updated at 12:04 p.m. to reflect information regarding carry permit