St. Petersburg police are investigating a series of shootings that occurred early Wednesday in south St. Petersburg that sent four people to local hospitals.

Gerome Bland spotted a 17-year-old man bleeding out the side of a car on his way home from work around 3:00 a.m. Wednesday morning.

“A body hanging out of the car. Like, the blood and he was crawling and like upside down trying to… I don’t know what happened. I needed to get the guy some help,” said Bland.

The injured people were in a limousine, a Chrysler 300 and a Nissan Altima. The shootings happened at three different locations in south St. Petersburg early Wednesday.

"They were aiming to kill somebody," says Terry Kurmay, owner of Alpha Limousine Service.

He says his limo was riddled with bullets, 26 in all.

Inside, two of the eight passengers were hit while the driver and his brother, who was also in the front seat, missed being shot by a mere foot.

The 17-year-old occupant of the Chrysler, remains in critical condition with life-threatening injuries.

"I know that neither one of them was headed off to work to think that they were going to entail in a gun battle with anybody," said Kurmay.

According to police, the series of events started just after 2 a.m. when the occupants of the limo left Scene nightclub in downtown St. Petersburg. The limo passengers stopped at a convenience store at 5th Avenue South and 34th Street South - along with the occupants of the Nissan, who were friends of the people in the limo.

Officials said after the limo left the store, the Chrysler 300 pulled alongside the vehicle near 7th Avenue South when someone in the Chrysler began firing shots at the limo, injuring two people inside. Authorities said the limo driver, who had a concealed weapons permit, produced his own gun and returned fire as he sped away from the area.

Shell casings could be seen all over 7th Avenue South and 28th Street. It is the same location where Bland spotted the 17-year-old man on his way home from work.

“All the doors were open, all four doors, it looked like someone had exited the vehicle,” said Bland who noted that 17-year-old was trying to crawl out of the Chrysler 300 as well.  

“We believe there were at least two people in the Chrysler 300 and there was a silver Kia that was pulling up along the other side. We think they were racking in concert with each other. How many people were in that car- we don't know,” said Mike Puetz, public information officer for the St. Petersburg Police Department.

Officials said Malik Wilson, 21, and Kendrick Henry, 24, suffered non life-threatening injuries when they were wounded inside of the limo. A total of 12 people were in the limo, but no other people in that vehicle were injured. Eugene Chambers, 21, who was in the Altima, also was wounded in the shooting. His injuries are not considered life-threatening.

It’s a popular hangout for the after-hours crowd, Mike Puetz of the Saint Petersburg Police says.

But someone in the limo made a very big mistake.

"Flashing large sums of money that some folks in the crowd may have noticed," Puetz said.

The drivers of those two cars that followed the limo and then sandwiched him in while firing at the vehicle certainly took notice.  That’s what led to the gunfight.

The limo driver was able to get away by flooring it but not before shooting back at the car shooting at him.  He has a concealed weapons permit.

His boss says he made all the right moves.

"Thank God, you know, that he did have a concealed weapons permit because I ultimately think that he saved his life and his brother's life and the people that were in the car," Kurmay says.

Kurmay flagged down police officers a short distance away at Queensboro Avenue and 31st Street South.  

Officials later found the Chrysler, which had been reported stolen, on the shoulder of the road in the 700 block of 28th Street South. Authorities found the 17-year-old, injured in that vehicle.

Detectives said the occupants of the limo may have been targeted for a possible robbery by the occupants of the Chrysler and another vehicle. Officers said some of the limo passengers may have been flashing large sums of cash while at the convenience store and were noticed by the suspects in the two other vehicles.

Authorities said the investigation is ongoing.

The suspects remain at large.

Police say the limo driver acted in self-defense and is not expected to face any charges.