Two Florida kids, aged 12 and 14, broke into a house after they ran away from a group home then got into a full shootout with local police. The “ringleader” was apparently the 14-year-old girl and not so much the 12-year-old boy. However, they were both involved and are now both charged with multiple crimes. The boy was not hurt but the girl was shot multiple times and is in critical condition. None of the responding officers on the scene were hurt. This incident comes on the heels of other high-profile stories of children engaging in extremely violent crime.
As of the publishing of this article, it is not quite clear why the children lived at a group home. What is apparently clear is that these kids already had issues. The group home in question had 250 police calls in one year. At least one of the kids in question was able to shoot and reload a pump-action shotgun and an AK-47 rifle. Although the girl did mention the video game “GTA”, police are still baffled at how she had the skill to operate such weaponry in the real world.
Police exhibited an exorbitant amount of restraint throughout the entire hours-long standoff and active gunfire exchange. One officer’s body camera footage picked up audio of him saying “please don’t make me do this.” Unfortunately, the 14-year-old girl was shot after shooting at the police. But the officers were kind as possible referring to the girl as “sweetie” which was also captured on body camera audio and video. The girl’s father (who does not have custody) spoke to the media and expressed surprise that his daughter would do such a thing. Americans may also be surprised that such young kids could possibly engage in such violent behavior. But as these occurrences become more and more frequent, the time for surprise is over.
SOURCES:
Girl, 14, and boy, 12, open fire on deputies after home break-in
Florida group home calls shootout ‘result of the system failing our children’ – ABC News
Florida kids face first-degree murder charges after police shootout
12- and 14-year-old Florida foster children face charges after shooting – The Washington Post
