An 11-year-old boy has been arrested after he allegedly shot two peers during a fight over a bag of chips at football practice.
Authorities in Apopka, Florida, say that the fight between players began on Monday night during a Pop Warner practice and escalated as it spilled into the parking lot of the Northwest Recreation Complex.
That’s where the 11-year-old boy allegedly ran to his parents’ car and grabbed a small purple handgun from the passenger side.
Police claim he fired one bullet which managed to injure two 13-year-old boys, hitting one boy in the arm and another in the torso.
"We shouldn’t have 11-year-olds that have access to guns and think they can resolve a dispute with a firearm," Apopka Police Chief Mike McKinley told a press conference.
Security camera footage allegedly captured the victims running away from the 11-year-old as he pulled the trigger.
One mother frantically was heard calling police for help, NBC reported.
“Medical! My son got shot, miss!" the mother is heard saying. "My son! In his back!"
The alleged shooter’s mother then appears in the video and looks highly distressed shouting something at her son.
Officers were called out to the scene at 8.18pm and arrived at 8.24pm when the gun was confiscated and the boy was arrested.
The two victims were taken to the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando and are expected to survive their injuries.
The incident took place at Northwest Recreation Complex at a Pop Warners football practice— (Fox 35)
"We all thank God nobody was hurt more seriously than what they were," Mr McKinley said, as the football complex was very busy and crowded at the time of the shooting. "This could have been a very tragic incident."
The boy was arrested on a single charge of attempted second-degree murder.
Despite hitting two young boys, Mr McKinley said he does not believe in “stack[ing] charges upon” the 11-year-old boy.
“Our hope is that the 11-year-old gets the assistance he needs to make sure this isn’t a resolution for the rest of his life. He’s 11, he’s got a long life ahead of him," Mr McKinley said. "There’s no doubt that he can turn things around. Hopefully, our court system, with diversion programs and counseling and other things, can help him past this and move to a point where reaching for a firearm is not his resolution for the future."
He added that the parents are likely also to face charges, as the gun, which they owned, was left in a box in the boy’s car, rather than being locked away safely.
According to witnesses interviewed by police, the shooter was being bullied by one of the 13-year-olds and the initial fight broke out over a bag of chips, reports WFTV.
Apopka Police Chief Mike McKinley says that “In today’s society, our juveniles run, retrieve a gun, and fire the gun. It’s unacceptable."— (Fox 35)
"It’s unbelievable that young kids out here to play football and have a good time would get into an altercation," Mr McKinley said. "But in today’s society, our juveniles run, retrieve a gun, and fire the gun. It’s unacceptable. We can do better than that as a society. We should not resort to violence."
Mr McKinley confirmed that an investigation is still underway.
The young boy has already appeared in court on Wednesday, where the judge ruled that he should remain in custody for three more weeks and denied a request for home detention, AP said. The child began to sob as the judge told him his next steps.
The child’s attorney, Robert Mandall described the incident as a “tragedy” to WESH-TV.
“It’s a tragedy for everybody involved, but this is a problem with the parents, this isn’t the children,” Mr Mandell said. “This started with a group of 13-year-olds bullying an 11-year-old. They wouldn’t let him eat, they attacked him, they threw him on the ground, he did what he could, didn’t even understand the consequences, which is clear, he gets in the back seat because he wants to go home.”
Pop Warner officials said in a statement they are trying to "better understand the circumstances surrounding the shooting, and work to ensure appropriate measures are in place to support the program and its members," the youth football organization said on Tuesday.
