SARASOTA, Fla — A 17-year-old is dead and two other kids were injured after Sarasota Police say two teens shot at them from a car Sunday afternoon.
One of those teens has been arrested and charged with homicide and attempted homicide. We are not naming her since she is in custody and a minor.
Police also arrested a second teenager, who is charged with the same crimes. ABC Action News is not naming him or showing his picture as he is now in custody and is a minor.
Sunday, around 4:30 p.m., police say several young kids were outside at the intersection of 22nd Street and Palmadelia Avenue. Witnesses tell police a gold-colored sedan came around the corner and began to fire. Casings found at the scene show a handgun was fired as well as a rifle.
“They are trying to figure out where these kids are getting these firearms. In one particular instance, witnesses told us they saw individuals in a car shoot, one with an assault rifle, one with a handgun,” said Genevieve Judge, a PIO for the Sarasota Police Department. “So, these are very serious crimes, lives are being taken and we want to see this stop.”
A 17-year-old was killed, but neighbors say the younger kids were not with the 17-year-old, they just happen to be in the same area at the time of the shooting.
A 9-year-old was hit by a bullet in the shoulder, and a 16-year-old was hit in the hand. Several other kids ages, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13 were there too and saw what happened.
The mother of the 9-year-old said she is recovering and was discharged from the hospital today.
The car sped down 23rd Street. Someone called the police and told them who they thought was in the car. They identified a 16-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy. Police arrested the girl, and took the boy into custody on Wednesday after he turned himself in.
Police say the two teens had been in an argument with the 17-year-old but they did not know what the argument was about.
“Sunday’s homicide is the fourth homicide in 2022, and those are numbers we don’t typically see. This is very abnormal for the city of Sarasota,” Judge said. “But, I can tell you from the chief of police all the way down to our patrol officers, we’re working together. We are having meetings, we’re putting together plans so people know we’re out there.”
They say they are looking at crime stats and reallocating their officers to areas that have more crime to better serve those areas.
This incident remains an ongoing investigation. Anyone with information on this case is asked to call the Sarasota Police Department Criminal Investigations Division at 941-263-6070 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers by calling 941-366-TIPS or online here.
