VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A 17-year-old girl has been arrested for her involvement in a shooting that killed a 17-year-old boy and injured his 18-year-old friend. The shooting happened in Pierson on Wednesday night near Christmas Road and Main Street.
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Sheriff Mike Chitwood said the shooting is a product of a drug deal gone bad. Chitwood said three teens took a trip from Crescent City in Putnam County to Pierson to sell marijuana to another group of teens.
The buyers, a 17-year-old girl, her 15-year-old brother and another 15-year-old did not want to pay and began shooting. The 17-year-old girl has confessed to pulling the trigger, but detectives are still working to determine which of the two 15-year-olds used the second gun.
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The sheriff said the teens in the car with the drugs, were unarmed.
Chitwood said the teen suspects were already on probation at the time of the shooting for breaking into and vandalizing Taylor Middle High School in 2022.
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He warned that penalties became harsher for kids involved in gun related charges on July 1 and added with more and more teens getting caught up in serious crimes, law enforcement is losing patience.
“You have these 15, 16, 17-year-old kids that want to be gangsters. They think it’s a video game or they think it’s cool and now here you are, it’s cool we are going to rob them because we are gangsters we broke in the school, we vandalized the school and now you have a 17-year-old who is going to be charged as an adult and is looking at first degree murder charges,” said Chitwood.
Because school begins Monday, the sheriff has some concerns about retaliation. To help prevent another bad situation, he plans to flood Pierson with law enforcement for the time begin. The sheriff said residents can expect random probation and parole checks, traffic stops and basic patrols. He is in contact with the Putnam County Sheriff’s office as well.
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