TAMPA, Fla. — A 14-year-old boy in Tampa is facing felony charges for a Halloween weekend shooting that left a woman dead.
Tampa police said on Saturday, Oct. 29, officers responded to the Chamberlain Plaza on West Busch Boulevard for a report of shots fired, according to a Tampa Police Department news release.
Officers arrived and found multiple shell casings in the parking lot but no one injured.
About 20 minutes later, a 911 call came in from a gas station on West Waters Avenue — less than 2 miles from where the shooting occurred — about a woman suffering from a gunshot wound, the department said. Officers arrived and attempted life-saving measures, however, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Two witnesses in the car told police the woman had just left a music recording studio in the Chamberlain Plaza before the shots were fired. During that time, a teen party at another venue in the plaza was taking place, police said.
"As a dark-colored vehicle entered the parking lot, shots were fired toward the car by two individuals on foot in the parking lot," police report.
The woman was neither connected to the party nor the shooters, according to authorities.
Detectives were able to identify the 14-year-old as the accused shooter through surveillance video. Police said the video showed the teen allegedly shooting in the direction of the car, "hitting the front passenger side of the car where the victim was seated."
10 Tampa Bay is not identifying the teen because he is a minor.
The teen had just recently been released from a juvenile detention facility six days before for minor in possession of a firearm, carrying a concealed firearm and resisting an officer without violence, the Tampa Police Department said.
Police officers arrested the 14-year-old on Monday, Dec. 12 for the deadly shooting on charges of felony manslaughter with a firearm, shooting at a vehicle and minor in possession of a firearm.
An investigation continues to identify additional people who might have been involved in the crime.
