Deputy sheriff Charles Freeman is on an off-duty gig, filling in for his partner as a security officer at McDonald’s in downtown Tampa, Florida.

It’s 11:30 p.m. Freeman hears a commotion near the entrance. As he rounds the corner, the uniformed deputy sees three teenagers all wearing masks. There’s a fourth kid outside in a getaway car.

One of the robbers pistol-whips an employee then swings toward the deputy, pulling the slide back on his weapon. Freeman yells: "Police! Freeze!"

A Hillsborough County Sheriff’s official would later report: "At that moment there was a simultaneous exchange of gunfire between the deputy and the robber." In seconds a total of eight rounds is fired.

Deputy Freeman is hit in the groin by one of three shots from the bandit’s gun. Freeman fires his .45-caliber semi-automatic five times, striking the robber in the chest. The two other teens run out of the store, jump into a waiting Eagle Talon and drive off.

Freeman manages to get to his patrol car and radio for help. He’s lucky, the bullet narrowly missed his femoral artery. Had that artery been severed, the deputy almost certainly would have bled to death.

Soon the area is crawling with cops-80 cars from Tampa police and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. Inside McDonald’s, 18-year-old Jason lies dead on the floor with .45-caliber slugs in his chest. He’s still wearing a mask and shiny Nikes. His gun is nearby on the floor.

By mid-morning the three remaining teens-each of them 13 years old-are captured and charged with attempted armed robbery and second degree murder. The state attorney’s office will bring them to trial as adults. Why are they charged with murder? Because someone died as a result of a crime they committed.

Two months later Deputy Freeman still hasn’t been able to return to work. Fragments of the bullet remain in his leg and doctors say there could be permanent nerve damage.

Thanks to Calibre Press for information about this story.