13-year-old arrested for pointing laser at Pinellas County sheriff’s helicopter: ‘He’s blinding our pilot’

LARGO, Fla. - A 13-year-old faces felony charges after pointing a laser at a sheriff's office helicopter, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Helicopter video released by PCSO appears to show the teen shortly after midnight Friday in the area of 7th St. Northwest and 11th Ave. in Largo, as information was relayed to deputies on the ground in an effort to track him down.

"Get up and get somebody on this gentleman. He's blinding our pilot," a flight deputy onboard the chopper is heard saying in the video.

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Body camera video then shows deputies confronting the 13-year-old suspect and finding a flare gun with a mounted green laser in his jacket.

Once he's in the back of a squad car, the teen can be heard telling investigators, "I didn't know it was a police helicopter."

The suspect faces a charge of misuse of a laser lighting device, which is a third-degree felony.

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