Florida boy, 14, shoots sister dead in row over Christmas presents
A 14-YEAR-OLD boy has been arrested for killing his sister during a Christmas Eve row over who had more presents.
Abrielle Baldwin, 23, was shot in the chest by her sibling in Florida’s Pinellas County, police said. Her 10-month-old son was in a carrier nearby at the time.
The teenager, Damarcus Coley, 14, was then shot himself by his older brother, Darcus Coley, 15, who was armed with his own semi-automatic handgun.
Bob Gualtieri, Pinellas County Sheriff, said the dispute began when Ms Baldwin was out shopping on Dec 24 with her two young sons, her brothers and their mother.
Her 14-year-old sibling was apparently “jealous” that his older brother was getting “more gifts” than him, Mr Gualtieri said.
“So they had this family spat about who was getting what and what money was being spent on who,” he added.
They returned to their grandmother’s house in Largo, near Tampa, where the argument escalated, Mr Gualtieri said.
Damarcus allegedly pulled out a .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun and pointed it at his brother, telling him he was going to shoot him in the head. He allegedly tried to force his sibling to fight, but Darcus refused and instead told him to “get out of the house”.
The pair were then separated by an uncle, with the 14-year-old being ordered outside, where he came across Ms Baldwin and her baby on the property’s driveway.
Ms Baldwin told her brother to calm down and “to leave that stuff alone’”, asking “’Why you trying to start it? It’s Christmas,” according to Mr Gaultieri.
But the boy continued to berate his sister, threatening to shoot her and her baby.
He then moved toward Ms Baldwin and fired a bullet into her chest.
She was later pronounced dead after being taken to hospital, Mr Gualtieri said.
The bullet pierced her left arm and went into her chest, puncturing both of her lungs. Her injuries left her with internal bleeding and unable to breathe.
Damarcus was taken to hospital where he received surgery for a gunshot wound to the stomach, and will be taken into custody upon his release, police said.
Darcus was later arrested at a relative’s house and charged with attempted first-degree murder and tampering with evidence.