An 11-year-old is accused of shooting during soccer practice and injuring two teenagers and is being denied house arrest
APOPKA, Fla. (AP) — An 11-year-old accused of stealing a gun from his mother’s vehicle Shooting of two teenagers A judge in Florida ruled on Wednesday that he will remain in custody for another three weeks after an argument at soccer practice.
The child began sobbing after the judge ruled against a request for house arrest, Orlando television stations reported. He is charged with one count of attempted second-degree murder.
The child’s attorney, Robert Mandell, did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment. But he told WESH-TV in Orlando that the shooting was due to bullying, a scenario supported by a police report.
“It’s a tragedy for everyone involved, but this is a parents’ problem, not a children’s problem,” Mandell told the station. “It started with a group of 13-year-olds bullying an 11-year-old. They didn’t let him eat, they attacked him, they threw him on the floor, he did what he could, didn’t even understand the consequences, which is clear, he sits in the back seat because he wants to go home. ”
An Apopka police report said the child was chased and attacked by the shooting victims. A witness told investigators that one of the shooting victims punched him in the face.
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As television stations reported, the 11-year-old’s mother and grandparents were present at Wednesday’s hearing.
The teens began arguing during soccer practice Monday night, Apopka police said. The younger child retrieved a gun from his mother’s SUV parked at the sports complex and fired a shot, hitting one teenager in the arm and the other in the torso.
According to an affidavit, surveillance video showed one of the victims chasing the 11-year-old before the shooting. Someone tried to break up the argument, but the suspect grabbed the gun and ran toward the two teens, police wrote in the report.
The mother told investigators she did not see her son grab the gun, which she said was stored in a gun box under the passenger seat.
“The mother stated that her son knew the gun was in the vehicle, but she had previously told him not to touch the gun and that the gun was for protection,” the police report states.
She faces a possible second-degree misdemeanor charge of leaving a weapon unsecured, Police Chief Mike McKinley said during a news conference Tuesday.
The victims were taken to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando. Their injuries were not considered life-threatening. WKMG-TV reported that the teen who was shot in the torso underwent surgery and that the other teen was treated and released.
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