A 23-year-old woman was shot and killed by her 14-year-old brother during a “domestic altercation” over Christmas presents, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.
The shooting took place on Christmas Eve in Largo, a city in the Tampa Bay area.
The incident involved 23-year-old Abrielle Baldwin, a mother of two and the victim of the shooting, and her two brothers Damarcus Coley, 14, and Darcus Coley, 15.
A press release from Pinellas police states that the three siblings went Christmas shopping on Sunday along with their mother Joyce and Abrielle’s 11-month-old and six-year-old sons.
“While they were shopping, 15-year-old Darcus was jealous that their mother Joyce was getting 14-year-old Damarcus more gifts than he was receiving,” Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said in a Tuesday press conference.
“So they had this family spat about who was getting what, and what money was being spent on who, and they’re having this big thing going on in the store and they’re all arguing with each other,” Gualtieri added.
After leaving the store, the family headed to their grandmother’s house. The argument was still ongoing when the family arrived, culminating in Damarcus taking out a semi-automatic handgun and threatening to shoot Darcus in the head.
An uncle who had been at the grandmother’s house stepped in to separate the two boys and brought Damarcus outside to the driveway.
Baldwin, while holding her 11-month-old son in a carrier, approached her brother and told Damarcus “to stop arguing because it was Christmas,” police wrote.
Damarcus started arguing with his sister and threatened to shoot her and the baby. The 14-year-old then shot Baldwin. The bullet went through her left arm and into her chest. The baby was unharmed.
Photo of the semi-automatic handgun used to kill Abrielle Baldwin, 23.
YouTube/Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office
Shortly after the shot was fired, Darcus exited his grandmother’s house and found that his brother shot his sister. He took out another firearm and shot Damarcus. Darcus then tossed his gun into a nearby yard and fled the scene.
Emergency workers responded to the scene of the shooting and Baldwin and Damarcus were transported to a local hospital. Baldwin was pronounced dead at the hospital while Damarcus underwent surgery.
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Damarcus is in stable condition and will transported to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice upon his release from the hospital, Sheriff Gualtieri said.
After the shooting, Darcus fled to a relative’s house. After he tried contacting his mother, he was located by police and arrested. Darcus made statements alluding to self-harm when police took him in, so he was transported to a mental health facility.
He will be transferred next to the Pinellas Juvenile Assessment Center.
Damarcus has been charged with first degree murder, child abuse and delinquent possession of a firearm. Prosecutors are reviewing his case to decide if he will be tried as an adult for the killing of his sister.
Darcus has been charged with attempted first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence. The firearm Darcus used in the shooting is still missing.
Mugshots of (L-R) Damarcus Coley, 14, and Darcus Coley, 15.
YouTube/Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office
Gualtieri said in Tuesday’s press conference that the two boys carried guns all the time, according to interviews with their relatives, and they had both previously been booked for car burglaries and other crimes.
“The problem is, is you got way too many kids out there with way too many guns,” Gualtieri said. “They’re not old enough to understand and have the right coping mechanisms to deal with this stuff when they are upset.”
It’s believed that both guns used in the shooting were obtained illegally, either purchased on the street or stolen from unlocked cars.
“In the last thirty days, we’ve taken reports where seventeen guns have been stolen from unlocked cars,” Gualtieri said.
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