Police Charge Clam Bayou Shooter with Hate Crime

By Abby Baker

Four Black women were enjoying a peaceful Saturday afternoon at Clam Bayou Park when a man shouted racial slurs and shot at them with an air rifle on February 20.

Months later, the St. Petersburg Police Department charged Joshua Rousseau, 36, with six counts of aggravated assault, five of which were upgraded to a hate crime on April 6.

One of the six counts is aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, as Rousseau shot at a St. Petersburg Police Sergeant prior to his arrest. Police said Rousseau fired shots from the water while steering a kayak. Police were aware that Rousseau lived on a nearby sailboat, and arrested him on February 25; he walked away from the Pinellas County jail after posting $30,000 bail on March 7.

Rousseau faces a maximum of 90 years in prison.

St Petersburg Police Department