LARGO, Fla. — A couple of teenagers got into a shootout on Monday during an attempted gun robbery, which left one of them dead, and his two alleged accomplices have been charged with murder, according to Largo Police.
It happened in the area of 126th Avenue and 66th Street in Largo just after midnight early Monday.
Police said a 15-year-old girl was hanging out with a group of juveniles and was providing information about their whereabouts to her 17-year-old brother and his 15-year-old friend. The goal was for the teenage boys to rob a 16-year-old boy in the group of his gun, according to police.
Police Chief Mike Loux said there was a shootout during the attempted robbery that killed the 17-year-old boy and left the victim with gunshot injuries.
“The recklessness of the whole thing when you consider the fact that it’s after midnight,” he said. “You have a group of juveniles that are under 18 years of age… carrying firearms, carrying on, certainly that’s a concern for the community.”
Chief Loux said the shootout also endangered the public when a car was struck that was driving down 66th Street at the time.
“One of the stray rounds hit the windshield of that car,” he said. “They were uninjured but they did go to the hospital because they had a panic attack.”
The police chief said the victim is expected to survive.
The 15-year-old girl has been charged with second-degree felony murder for her brother’s death. The 15-year-old boy was also charged with second degree felony murder and attempted first degree murder.
The teens have been charged with murder even if they’re not the ones who shot their friend because he died during the commission of a felony and they were involved in that crime. It’s known as the felony murder rule.
Spectrum News is not identifying any of the teenagers involved because they’re minors and have not been charges as adults.