Apopka shooting: Video showing 11-year-old allegedly shoot teammates at football practice released by police
APOPKA, Fla. - Police have released surveillance video that appears to show the moment an 11-year-old boy allegedly shot two of his teammates following football practice at a sports complex Monday night in Apopka, Florida. Apopka is about 30 minutes northwest of Orlando.
The 11-year-old boy was arrested Monday on a charge of attempted second-degree murder.
Warning: The video, released by police, appears to show the shooting at a sports complex in Apopka. Police edited the video and appears to have blurred or obscured the faces of the suspect, victims, and other juveniles in the area. The video appears to show the shooting, which may be disturbing to some readers.
Police said the boy grabbed the gun out of his mom's SUV and ran towards another teammate before firing one shot. Two 13-year-old boys were ultimately hit – one was hit in the back, and another was hit in the arm, police said.
The video shows a handful of people near the bathroom building and parking lot. Three boys are seen running into the frame. The alleged shooter opens the passenger door of a vehicle and then moments later, people begin to run.
Watch: Apopka Police Chief gives update on Pop Warner shooting
It appears the bullet entered and exited one kid, and then struck the second kids, authorities said.
One of the boys has been released from the hospital, Apopka police said in a Tuesday afternoon update. The second boy underwent surgery and remains at the hospital, but is considered to be in stable condition. Both boys are expected to fully recover, police said.
The shooting happened shortly after 8 p.m. at the Northwest Recreation Center complex in the parking lot, near the football fields, authorities said. It appears that the three boys got into an argument and a physical fight during practice, possibly over bullying or a bag of chips, which continued into the parking lot.
Police said the boy got the gun from his mother's vehicle, where it was stored in an unlocked box. He allegedly put the gun back in the box after the shooting.
His mother could face charges for keeping the gun in an unlocked box, which is required by law, police said.
Apopka shooting timeline: What happened?
On Monday, Aug. 2, around 8:20 p.m. Apopka police received 911 calls reporting a shooting at the Northwest Recreation Center complex, near the football fields, police said.
The first officer arrived at 8:24 p.m. - four minutes later – and found one juvenile lying on the ground in the parking lot, a second victim holding his arm, and the alleged shooter near a vehicle being "shielded" by a man and his mom, according to the arrest report.
The suspected shooter – later identified as an 11-year-old boy – was detained and placed in the back of the officer's vehicle. Police said the boy was highly emotional, crying, and repeatedly said he didn't know where the gun was, according to the report.
The gun – described as a small, purple handgun – was found inside the boy's mother's blue SUV, the report said. Police said the boy retrieved the gun from an unsecured box in the vehicle and allegedly put it back after the shooting.
The mother was in the driver's seat of her car before and during the shooting, police said. She told officers that the gun was kept in an unlocked box underneath her seat and the boy knew where it was.
Police: Shooting was captured by surveillance cameras
Surveillance video from the park reportedly captured the shooting incident. Police included that timeline in their report:
- 8:17 p.m. - Camera records various bystanders in the parking lot and in front of the vehicle
- 8:18 p.m. - Camera shows the alleged shooter and victim 1, described as a heavy-set male with red shorts, and victim 2, wearing a jersey, come into view. Victim 1 is chasing the alleged shooter, who runs towards his mother's vehicle.
- 8:18:05 p.m. - Shooter is seen opening front passenger door and reaching in. His back is facing Victim 1.
- 8:18:08 p.m. - Victim 1 comes within 10 feet of the alleged shooter and is stopped by an unknown male. Victim 1 then turns around.
- 8:18:09 - Alleged shooter turns around and runs toward Victim 1.
- 8:18:10 - Alleged shooter raised his right arm towards back of Victim 1 and fires one shot. Victim 1 is hit in the back and runs away, outside of the camera's view.
Immediately after, according to the report, the alleged gunman is grabbed by someone else and brought back to his mother's vehicle.
Police said it appears that prior to the shooting, victim 1 had taken four steps away from the alleged shooter as he was walking away. Police said it appears the alleged shooter ran five steps toward Victim 1 before he fired the single shot, according to the report.
What we know about the 11-year-old suspect
The suspect is currently being held at a juvenile detention center. McKinely was asked why the boy is facing one count of second-degree attempted murder, though two people were shot.
"That it'll be up to the courts if they want to separate those [charges]. Again, this is a serious charge, and we're talking about an 11-year-old child here," McKinley said. "I don't think there is a need to stack on charges on an 11-year-old child that has no criminal history."
Alleged shooter's mom could also face charges
Police said the gun the boy used was legally owned by the parent, however, the mom could still face criminal charges because the gun was left in an unsecured box that was accessible to the child.
Chief McKinley said Apopka police are planning to pursue charges.