11-year-old shoots two 13-year-olds during fight at football practice, Florida cops say
UPDATE: The mother of the child accused of shooting two of his football teammates following a fight at a Florida football practice has been charged with culpable negligence, according to a Dec. 7 news release from the state attorney’s office.
State officials said on Oct. 2, the mother left a loaded weapon in a “worn and tattered” cardboard box in her vehicle where her son could easily access it, according to the release.
She faces up to five years in prison if found guilty of the charge, state officials said.
The original story continues below.
An 11-year-old football player fighting with two other players during practice grabbed a gun from his mother’s car and shot them, Florida police told news outlets.
A fight between the boy and two 13-year-olds started on the field of an Apopka recreation center for youth sports in the evening of Oct. 2, police Chief Mike McKinley said in an Oct. 3 news conference streamed by WESH.
McKinley said the players fought physically, but a cause of the fight was not released.
The fight continued into the parking lot of the facility when the 11-year-old went into his mom’s car, the police chief said in the news conference.
He grabbed a gun out of an unlocked box and fired one shot at the two teens, McKinley told WFLA.
The shot hit one teen in the arm and the other in the torso as the two were running away from the 11-year-old, McKinley told the Associated Press.
They are both expected to recover, outlets reported.
The 11-year-old was arrested and charged with attempted second-degree murder, the police chief said in the news conference.
Charges are expected for the child’s mother, who owned the gun legally, but did not properly lock the case, McKinley told WFLA.
“As a society, we need to reflect on this. We see this way too often in our society now,” McKinley said in the news conference. “It’s a shame. No one wants to arrest an 11-year-old by any means.”
The recreational sports facility hosts a variety of club and school sporting events, including Pop Warner Little Scholars, the largest youth football league in the U.S, WFLA reported.
Police told the outlet they plan on releasing a redacted surveillance video of the shooting at a later time.
Apopka is in Orange County, about 20 miles northwest of Orlando.
This story was originally published October 3, 2023 at 9:23 AM with the headline "11-year-old shoots two 13-year-olds during fight at football practice, Florida cops say."
