Shocking surveillance footage shows the moment an 11-year-old Florida boy opened fire on his football teammates – after he was allegedly ‘bullied’ during a fight over a bag of chips.
Chaos broke out in the parking lot of the Northwest Recreation Complex in Apopka Monday night as children headed home after Pop Warner football practice.
The conflict was captured on a camera from a nearby building, with video showing a group of children, some still wearing football jerseys, gathering in the lot.
Victim 1, described as a heavy-set male with red shorts, was seen standing close to the second victim, who was wearing a jersey.
The 11-year-old is seen fishing under the front seat of a nearby SUV before he suddenly turns around and runs at the group, pointing the gun at Victim 1 – who has his back turned – before firing.
According to police, the teenager was standing just 10 feet away when he was shot, with the bullet exiting his body and grazing the second victim’s elbow.
The crowd scatters and a woman, presumably the shooter’s mother, runs around from driver side and grabs the child by his shoulders to lead him back to the vehicle.
A squabble broke out at the Northwest Recreation Complex in Apopka, Florida on Monday night that ended in a shooting
The 11-year-old suspect was seen on surveillance camera reaching beneath the front seat of his mother’s SUV for a gun that she kept in an unlocked box
The boy opened fire on his teammates, hitting one in the back and another in the elbow using only one bullet
In the moments that followed, the boy’s mother grabbed his shoulders to restrain him as the crowd scattered
At 8.19pm, Apopka police received several emergency calls about a shooting with ‘two possible juveniles sustaining possible gunshot wounds.’
One of these calls was later released, in which one victim’s mother frantically told a dispatcher: ‘My son got shot, miss!’
Police units turned up at 8.24pm – just four minutes later – and were told that suspect, also a juvenile, was still on the scene.
They noticed that a crowd had formed around a blue SUV and saw a black man with long dreads and a black woman in a dress shielding the 11-year-old.
One victim was lying on the ground and a second victim was clutching his own arm.
The 11-year-old was in tears and ‘highly emotional,’ according to the arrest report. The boy ‘kept repeating he didn’t know where the gun was.’
The child’s mother was in the driver’s seat of the car before and during the shooting.
She told officers that the weapon – a 9mm purple handgun – was kept in an unlocked box under the seat and that the boy knew where it was.
However, she had previously told him not to handle the weapon, as it was for her own protection.
Although the firearm was legally owned, police said the child’s mother may face criminal charges, as the gun was left in an unsecured box that was accessible to him – a second degree misdemeanor under Florida law.
The 11-year-old was detained until investigators arrived to inspect the scene. The victims were taken to the hospital and, although wounded, are expected to recover.
Investigators believe the damage was done by one bullet, which struck one of the boys in the the upper body, exited and grazed the other’s elbow.
Witnesses told police that the victims had been bullying the shooter before he opened fire.
The argument began during practice and was believed to have turned physical. The shooter had allegedly been slapped in the face as the children were fighting ‘over a bag of chips.’
One of the victims was injured in the arm and the other in the upper body, according to investigators. Police believe the second victim was struck by the same bullet directed toward the other boy, which exited and grazed his elbow, according to the arrest report.
The 11-year-old was later booked in a juvenile assessment center on a charge of second degree attempted murder.
At 8.19pm, Apopka police received several emergency calls, with one mother tearfully telling operators that her son had been shot in the back
Witnesses told police that the victims had been bullying the 11-year-old at practice as they argued over ‘a bag of chips,’ allegedly slapping him in the face
The suspect ‘kept repeating he didn’t know where the gun was’ when confronted by police. He was taken into custody and charged with second degree attempted murder
Apopka Police Chief Michael McKinley stressed the importance of communication between parents and children and said he hoped the 11-year-old could turn his life around
The arrest report shows that the shooter – whose name is being withheld due to his age – does not qualify for the Juvenile Civil Citation Program, as the felony was committed by a firearm.
The arrest avoidance program refers children to services like counseling, treatment, and other community resources.
Apopka Police Chief Michael McKinley spoke to members of the media Tuesday morning.
‘As a society we need to reflect on this,’ McKinley said. ‘We see this too often in our society now.
‘Juveniles, young juveniles – they get younger everyday – that have access to guns, but the more disturbing part is that they believe that gun, that firearm, is a resolution to their problem.
‘And it’s not a resolution to anybody’s problems. It just creates more problems for everybody involved,’ he said.
‘They’re ruining their lives, making bad decisions to use an argument to end a dispute.’
When asked why the shooter only faced one charge, McKinley said it would be up to the courts to separate the charges.
‘I don’t think there is a need to stack on charges on an 11-year-old child that has no criminal history,’ he said.
In his remarks, McKinley shifted blame, in part to the adults, and stressed the importance of good communication between parents and children.
‘It is our hope that the 11-year-old gets the assistance that he needs to make sure that this isn’t the resolution for the rest of his life, that he can resolve this matter, move on,’ the police chief said.
McKinley described the child as ‘very quiet, very shy’ and said he ‘looked very somber’ when they spoke.
‘He’s 11, he has a long life ahead of him. There’s no doubt he can turn things around.’
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
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