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.
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.
