ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — St. Petersburg police arrested a 14-year-old suspect on 2nd degree murder charges after police say a video surfaced that allegedly depicted the suspect shooting a 13-year-old.

Investigators say the victim’s own cell phone video captured 13-year-old Jaden Hill from Largo being shot and killed by his 14-year-old friend on Saturday and broke the case open.

What You Need To Know

  • Police said a 14-year-old boy shot and killed his 13-year-old friend 

  • The victim captured the deadly shooting on cell phone video  

  • Police said the video broke the case open

  • The 14-year-old boy was arrested for 2nd degree murder

“Originally, we’re kind of trying to put things together and the stories weren’t matching up,” said Assistant Police Chief Mike Kovascev. “Ultimately, there was a cell phone on scene. When we downloaded that cell phone, it showed the shooting was recorded.”

Spectrum News has not identified the 14-year-old alleged shooter because he’s a minor and has not been charged as an adult. Police said the deadly incident happened shortly after 11 p.m. on Saturday while the boys were sitting in a parked car outside of a home in the 2400 block of 11th Street South in St. Petersburg.

“Originally, we were investigating it potentially as a drive by shooting,” said Kovascev. “That was not exactly what occurred.”

Police said the 14-year-old had provided misleading statements, but once police downloaded the victim’s cell phone detectives found the victim had recorded his own demise.

“He picked the firearm up, pointed it at his friend and discharged the firearm one time, and the bullet struck his frontal chest,” said Kovascev. “The video, which is a unique piece of evidence to have from a cell phone like that… gave us an idea of what truly happened.”

The 14-year-old was arrested on a 2nd degree murder charge and was booked into juvenile detention. Kovascev said once detectives finish processing the gun, they should be able to determine where the teen got it.

The assistant chief said teens getting their hands on guns through illegal means have become a growing problem lately.

“Over the last 6 months to a year, we’ve seen it far more than we should have. And it’s a concerning trend that we probably need to have bigger discussions about whether it be in school, whether it be community-based discussion point,” he said. ”In most cases, we’ll find out that it was taken during an auto burglary at some point. That’s generally the trend.”