'Enough is enough': Leaders call for calm in St. Pete after deadly police shootout

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Lisa Wheeler-Bowman stepped up as a St. Pete city councilwoman and community leader after losing her son to gun violence 12 years ago. 

“Enough is enough. It’s time for us to come together and unify and say we aren’t going to have this in our community anymore,” Wheeler-Bowman told FOX 13.

There were seven shootings in her South St. Petersburg community in November, killing three people and injuring seven.    

Then December started with a suspect dead and a police officer shot after St. Pete police tried to arrest 20-year-old Dominique Harris on Wednesday.  

RELATED: St. Pete officer released from hospital day after deadly shooting

Harris was wanted for questioning in a murder that happened back in September -- and had a warrant for beating up a 15-year-old boy so badly, it sent the teen to the hospital.  

As St. Pete detectives were trying to arrest Harris, investigators say he rolled down his window and fired this gun four times, shooting an undercover officer at point-blank range, according to investigators. Officers returned fire, killing him.    

“Why would a 20-year-old kid decide he wants to kill cops why would you fire four rounds at an officer two feet away? [It’s] probably a question we will never be able to answer,” Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said during a news conference about the shooting. 

A statement attributed to Harris’ mother was posted on Facebook asking for transparency in the investigation and sayings she’s devastated while upset she found out about her son’s death while watching the news.   

Religious leaders are praying for calm. 

“It is very important for us not to name what we think has happened based on opinion and pieces of the investigation. It’s important we process the same set of facts,” said Pastor Meiko Seymour, Pinellas Community Church.   

Bowman’s Enough is Enough campaign will be rallying this weekend encouraging the community to make changes that will stop the violence. She says it starts with corner stores that aren’t friendly to police, but have become what she believes are safe havens for drugs and violence.  

“There have been several shootings at that [Food Max] store, this year alone. People gather there and they allow it," Bowman said.