/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/YEFD3CLULSFDC4AFOVQ4V4T5D4.jpg "This image made from video provided by WFTV-TV shows police vehicles at the scene of a shooting in Apopka on Monday. Police say an 11-year-old boy retrieved a gun from an unlocked box in his mother's vehicle and shot two 13-year-olds following an argument that began during a Pop Warner football practice in central Florida. A report from the Apopka Police Department said the child had been chased and attacked by the teens before the shooting, with a witness telling detectives one of the teens had slapped the child in the face.")
APOPKA — An 11-year-old who is accused of taking a gun from his mother’s vehicle and shooting two teens following an argument at football practice will remain in custody for three more weeks, a judge in Florida ruled Wednesday.
The child began sobbing after the judge ruled against a request for home detention, Orlando television stations reported. He is charged with one count of attempted second-degree murder.
The child’s attorney, Robert Mandell, did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment. But he told WESH-TV in Orlando that the shooting stemmed from bullying, a scenario supported by a police report.
“It’s a tragedy for everybody involved, but this is a problem with the parents, this isn’t the children,” Mandell told the station. “This started with a group of 13-year-olds bullying an 11-year-old. They wouldn’t let him eat, they attacked him, they threw him on the ground, he did what he could, didn’t even understand the consequences, which is clear, he gets in the back seat because he wants to go home.”
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/MORWGLJBPHUNWYLUQ7JKC255JQ.jpg "This image made from video provided by WFTV-TV shows people standing near a crime scene in Apopka on Monday night. An 11-year-old from central Florida is facing an attempted second-degree murder charge after police say he shot two 13-year-olds after an alleged bullying incident during a Pop Warner football practice in central Florida. A police report said the child was chased and attacked by the teens who were shot.")
A report from the Apopka Police Department said the child had been chased and attacked by the shooting victims, with a witness telling detectives one of the shooting victims had slapped him in the face.
The 11-year-old’s mother and grandparents attended Wednesday’s hearing, television stations reported.
The juveniles began arguing during football practice Monday night, Apopka police said. The younger child retrieved a gun from his mother’s SUV parked at the sports complex and fired a shot that struck one teen in the arm and the other in the torso.
Surveillance video showed one of the victims chasing the 11-year-old before the shooting, according to an arrest affidavit. Someone tried to break up the altercation, but the suspect grabbed the gun and ran toward the two teens, police wrote in the report.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/HREGUFJZS253WPSHD2FFBBMOWY.jpg "This image made from video provided by WFTV-TV shows a police vehicle in Apopka Monday night.")
The mother told detectives she didn’t see her son grab the gun, which she said had been stored in a gun box underneath the front passenger seat.
“The mother stated that her son had known the gun had been inside the vehicle, but she had told him prior not to handle the gun and that the gun was for her protection,” the police report said.
She may face a second-degree misdemeanor charge of leaving a gun unsecured, Police Chief Mike McKinley said during a news conference Tuesday.
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Explore all your optionsThe victims were taken to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando. Their injuries were not considered life-threatening. WKMG-TV reported that the teen who was shot in the torso underwent surgery and that the other teen was treated and released.
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