Football player, 17, shot dead during fight over video game
A dispute between two friends over a video game left a promising high-school football player dead and a 16-year-old boy arrested on a charge of aggravated manslaughter.
Miami Gardens police said Joshua Ancrum, a 17-year-old who played football for Miami Norland Senior High School, visited friends at a home in the 3400 block of Northwest 207th Street on Tuesday afternoon.
Ancrum and another boy got into a dispute and the 16-yearold shot and fatally wounded Ancrum, police said.
He died while on the way to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, police said.
The 16-year-old was arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter, Miami Gardens police detective Carolyn Frazer said. Police are not identifying the minor.
“The shooting is an isolated incident,” Frazer said. “Citizens are reminded and urged to keep their guns stored safely and to teach children about the importance of gun safety.”
Ancrum’s mother, Lisa Alvarez, gave an interview to WPLG-ABC 10, which reported that the two teens were friends and argued over a video game.
“He loved football. That was his dream. That’s all he wanted to do,” Alvarez said of her son in a video that was posted by the station. “He was so funny. He was playful and always challenging everyone. What mother wants to bury their son? It’s supposed to be the other way around.”
Carlos Austin, a spokesman for Miami Gardens police, said: “It’s a tragedy. This is someone who hasn’t had a chance to live his life.”
The South Florida Express youth football group said Ancrum was a player on a 7-on-7 team. He was a “sought-after” player at Norland, the group said.
“Today we are saddened to find out about the passing of one of our current players. Josh, you’re funny and charismatic attitude will forever live in our hearts. You will never be forgotten and will be missed,” the group tweeted.
“Just having him as a teammate really motivated me,” Jarvis Browlee told WTVJ-NBC 6 of the cornerback. “Just to have him on the other side of me knowing that he was gonna stop the other side and I was gonna lock the other side.”
South Florida Express also started a GoFundMe page to help Ancrum’s family with funeral expenses. “A promising young man with great athletic talent,” the page’s creator, J. Wimbrow, wrote.
The GoFundMe goal is $10,000. As of Wednesday night, the campaign had raised about $4,000.
Frazer said several witnesses were interviewed.
Anyone with information is asked to call Miami Gardens Detective Terry Goldson at 305-474-1493 or Miami-Dade CrimeStoppers at 305-471-8477 or www.crimestoppersmiami.com
Howard Cohen: 305-376-3619, @HowardCohen