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Suspect charged with 1st-degree murder after killing mother of 4 at St. Pete workplace

The woman had been a city employee for over 10 years.
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The St. Petersburg Police Department (SPPD) has issued an arrest warrant for 43-year-old Ladavion King, who is suspected in Wednesday's fatal shooting of a St. Pete city employee.

FHP is also charging King with four counts of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm, one count of discharging a firearm in public, one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and one count of fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement.

Police said a sanitation technician was shot at the 4100 block of 12th Avenue South on July 22. The woman, who officials said is about 47 years old, is a mother of four children.

The woman has been a city employee with the city for 12 years, according to officials.

Officers responded to the shooting just after 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Police believe the act was not random and said it appears domestic in nature.

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FHP said troopers used a PIT maneuver near southbound Exit 128 at Alico Road on I-75 to stop the suspect, who then barricaded himself inside his vehicle and refused commands from law enforcement.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers and Lee County Sheriff’s deputies made contact with the suspect, who was eventually taken into custody. The suspect was taken to a hospital with serious injuries.

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Police said the mother of four was shot while sitting inside her front-end loader work vehicle. They added she and the suspect knew each other.

FHP confirmed Thursday, July 23 that King remains hospitalized in serious condition.

Detectives have learned there was an argument before the shooting, and during the argument, King got into the sanitation technician's front-end loader work vehicle and shot her multiple times.

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