Dramatic new bodycam footage shows the moment a baby-faced "Bonnie and Clyde" opened fired on cops in Florida with an AK-47 before the 14 year-old girl is shot by officers and wails in pain. The bodycam footage shows deputies shooting 14-year-old Nicole Jackson and her 12-year-old foster home friend Travis O'Brien outside a nearby home where the two had holes up on Tuesday after running away from Florida United Methodist Children's Home, a juvenile group home.
Jackson and O'Brien are accused of breaking into a neighborhood home in Volusia County, Florida, on Tuesday night and arming themselves with an AK-47 and a shotgun before repeatedly shooting at cops as they tried to persuade them to surrender.
Young Bonnie and Clyde
Jackson and O'Brien open fired at cops when deputies approached the home they had holed up in and tried to convince them to come out. Their behavior saw them likened to a 'young Bonnie and Clyde' by Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood.
Officers were taken aback to see Jackson armed with a shotgun and without given them any chance she started firing at them. O'Brien soon joined her with an AK-47. The stand-off ended with Jackson being shot in the chest, with newly-released bodycam footage capturing her wailing in pain after being struck.
The new bodycam footage shows the deputies firing at Jackson, following which she wails. "Female has a shotgun in her hand, stand by," a sheriff's deputy is heard telling a dispatcher.
"Put the gun down now!" he yells.
A shot then rings out. "They're shooting at me," the deputy says. "Hold the air. I'm code 4. She's re-racking a round inside the shotgun."
The confused deputies then try to take control of the situation but are hesitant to fire as they realize that they are not seasoned criminals. "Let's not engage them anymore," one dispatcher can be heard saying. "Let's not challenge them."
But then Jackson soon cocks her shotgun. "She's racked a round in the shotgun," the deputy can be heard saying as he shoots back. "The windows is busted on the patio side. If she' comes out she's going to have the shotgun."
Moments later Jackson is hit with return fire from the officers as she steps out of the house with the shotgun — and is heard shrieking in pain.
"I think the female's down," a deputy says. "Call in the units. Female's on the ground behind the car." The footage then shows O'Brien walking toward the deputies, following which he surrenders and is taken into custody.
Horrifying Scenes
Both the children are facing charges of attempted first-degree murder of law enforcement officers and armed burglary. Although both are juvenile, their names were revealed given the degree of crime they commit.
AJ Bedizel, the man who owns the home the two children broke into, has since revealed he fears it was targeted because he had a sheriff's star hanging from the window, although no one was home at the time. The two children had earlier run away from the Florida United Methodist Children's Home where they were living. However, it is still not clear why they fled their foster home and what were their plans.
O'Brien was produced in a juvenile court for the first time on Thursday where a judge ordered him to be arraigned on June 23. Jackson, however, is yet to face court as she remains in hospital after undergoing surgery for her gunshot wound. She was stable as on Thursday night.
After the two children broke into the home, they found it empty but the youngsters found guns inside and opened fire on responding deputies. According to police, the two held the deputies at bay for more than 35 minutes.
Although none of the deputies were wounded, the officers involved in the shooting were put on administrative leave, Chitwood said. Also, it is still not clear when exactly Jackson and O'Brien fled the foster home and how long they had been staying at the home.
The whole ordeal unfolded after O'Brien and Jackson were reported missing from the children's home just before 5 pm on Tuesday. Deputies were searching the area when a neighbor reported hearing glass break at a home around 7.30 pm. Following that, deputies arrived at the scene and the shooting started.
