A suspect shot this morning after Tampa police said he attempted to drown an officer and a police K-9 has died.

Kobvey Igbuhay, 18, died at the hospital where he was taken after being shot during the altercation with an officer.

Police said the altercation occurred after four suspects in a stolen car fled into a swampy area to elude police.

Two other teens, police said, who were in the stolen car and taken into custody were identified as Dominic Robles, 18, and Shakira Rodriguez, 18. Rodriguez was apprehended after hiding in the woods for more than three hours.

Police said the fourth teen in the car is a 16-year-old juvenile who is not being identified at this time. Charges are pending for all three suspects.


Police surrounded a swampy area, where the fourth suspect fled. That suspect was taken into custody. (Jason Lanning, staff)

Officials say the incident started at 2:30 a.m. when a police officer spotted a stolen SUV near Nebraska and Lake avenues. Four people were inside the SUV. The officer briefly pursued the SUV, officials say, and then called a police helicopter, which followed the SUV from the air.

The SUV traveled north and stopped behind the First Presbyterian Church of Tampa, located at 4307 Humphrey St., and the suspects got out of the SUV and ran into a wooded area with deep, swampy water.

Two of the suspects were quickly taken into custody, and police followed the other suspects, one of which was Igbuhay, into the woods with K-9 police dogs.

Police K-9 Titus went into deep water chasing the suspects. Igbuhay pushed the dog down under the water, and K-9 Titus lost consciousness and was floating in the water.

Officer Jimmy Houston, who was also in the water, pulled Titus out of harm's way. Houston then approached the Igbuhay, who jumped up and began pushing down on Houston, attempting to push his head under water.  Houston was wearing the standard equipment and vest, which weigh roughly 35 pounds. As the suspect attempted to push Houston underwater, the officer fired one shot, wounding Igbuhay.

Houston then turned his attention to removing Titus and Igbuhay from the water, which he did with the help of his partner. Titus was revived and the officers performed chest compressions on Igbuhay, who was taken to the hospital where he later died. At least two of the other suspects were still at large at the time of the shooting.

As is standard procedure, Officer Houston has been placed on paid administrative leave, while TPD investigates the shooting.

Dozens of officers established a perimeter around the wooded area, and a police helicopter circled the area, tracking the fourth suspect with night vision. The suspect refused to come out, but was eventually apprehended at about 6:25 a.m.

The officer and the police dog are being checked out. Officials say they did not suffer serious injuries.

Police say the fourth suspect hid in this swamp for several hours while officers waited for her to surrender. (Erin Maloney, staff)

Igbuhay's Father, Harvey Igbuhey, and family have questions. They don’t believe the 18 year old was trying to hurt anyone. They believe he was scared, trying to get away.

"I want to see why would he shoot my son in the head,” he said. “You could have shot him somewhere else. You don’t want him to live no more? For what? I don’t get it.”

The officer, a 15-year veteran, said he fired in self-defense. He’s on paid administrative leave, standard for any officer-involved shooting.