Police have arrested a 15-year-old in the shooting death of a high school football star in a northeast Miami-Dade neighborhood.
The teen is facing charges including manslaughter, possession of a firearm by a minor and improper exhibition of a firearm, Miami-Dade Police officials said Wednesday.
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The shooting happened at around 1 p.m. on Tuesday at a home in the 100 block of Sierra Drive.
Miami-Dade Police identified the victim as 17-year-old Mekhi Stevenson. North Miami High School football coach Gerald Cox confirmed Stevenson, a junior quarterback, was on his team.
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"Full of life, vibrant, charismatic," Cox said. "Good kid on the field, good kid off the field."
According to police, Stevenson, his younger brother and four friends were in a room in the home when one of the friends, the now-arrested 15-year-old, pulled out a gun.
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The teen was told to put the gun away but he pointed it at Stevenson and it discharged, hitting Stevenson in the torso, police said.
Police said Stevenson tried to walk toward one of the doors in the home but collapsed to the ground. He died at the scene.
Police said the other teens ran from the scene after the shooting. A perimeter was set up, and the 15-year-old was later taken into custody.
The 15-year-old was expected to appear in court Thursday morning.
Meanwhile, Stevenson's older brother, Anthon Samuel, remembered him as a star athlete with a bright personality.
"Bright. Everything about him was bright. His smile was bright. His soul was bright," Samuel said.
Cox fought back tears as he remembered Stevenson, who he said was heading to college.
"He was a charismatic individual that led a team to the playoffs, led the team to a district championship. Good grades, did everything his momma asked him to do," Cox said. "He was a typical football kid in South Florida who was trying to do what he had to do and make something of himself."
