A pair of teen brothers are facing serious charges after a family fight on Christmas Eve turned deadly in Florida, authorities said.
According to Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, a 14-year-old and 15-year-old got into an argument while Christmas shopping with the family on Sunday when the 14-year-old got jealous over the number of gifts their mother was buying his brother.
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The family then went to their grandmother's home in Largo, WFLA first reported.
The boys' sister, 23-year-old Abrielle Baldwin, was taking her 11-month-old and 6-year-old sons to their grandmother’s home so she could watch them while Baldwin went to work.
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While at the grandmother’s home in Largo, the 14-year-old pulled out his gun and told his brother he was going to shoot him in the head, authorities said.
According to WFLA, at first, the 15-year-old refused to engage in the fight. After Baldwin told them to drop the argument, she and her 14-year-old brother began to argue.
The 14-year-old turned to his sister, called her a number of derogatory terms, and then shot her in the chest with a .40-caliber semi automatic handgun, the sheriff’s office said.
Baldwin was transported to Largo Medical Center hospital with a single gunshot wound to her chest, but was later pronounced dead, the sheriff said.
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“She was just a woman going about life doing her thing with her two kids,” Gualtieri said. “Now you got an 11-month-old and a 6-year-old boy and their mom’s dead.”
According to WFLS, after the shooting, the 15-year-old reportedly shot his younger brother in the stomach, saying “you shot my m***** f****** sister.”
The 15-year-old then ran away and threw his gun into a nearby yard, but he was later arrested at a relative’s home in Clearwater, according to the sheriff’s office.
He was transported to a mental health facility after making comments about self-harm, per authorities.
“If we don’t slow it down, we got a big problem,” the sheriff said. “I’ve never seen it as bad as it is with the number of crime guns that are on the street.”
The 14-year-old, who was shot once in his stomach, was taken to the hospital and underwent surgery.
The 14-year-old is facing charges of first-degree murder, child abuse, and being a delinquent in possession of a firearm. The 15-year-old is facing charges of attempted first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence.
The Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney’s Office will now review the case and decide if the 14-year-old will be charged as an adult.
