According to Florida City police, the incident happened on Tuesday night in the Washington Park subdivision. Tedra King, 13, had just hugged her half-brother, Martaevious Santiago, to wish him a happy birthday and then started walking out of the room. Santiago, who had just turned 17, then pointed a semi-automatic handgun at his sister, and pulled the trigger. It turned out that the handgun was loaded at the time and he shot King in the back of her dead, killing her.
The Miami Herald reports that authorities say the teenager then called 911. When police arrived on the scene, they pronounced King dead.
Santiago was taken into custody and charged with aggravated manslaughter. According to police, Santiago got the handgun from a 14-year-old friend, who has also been arrested on an unrelated outstanding warrant. Santiago himself is currently being held in a detention facility until his next hearing.
Florida Teen, Martaevious Santiago, With History Of Gun Shoots Dead His Baby Sister On His 17th Birthday (Pics) https://t.co/g4aTa91Bs1 pic.twitter.com/UjOxiaeKrR
— Anioje Taribo (@taritariboblog1) April 28, 2017
Teenager apologized, said the shooting was an accident
Vernon Williams, Santiago’s stepfather, was reportedly at home when the shooting incident occurred, along with Tedra’s mother, Lakesha Bess.
Williams said Santiago made a terrible mistake. He added that the teenager told him he was sorry and that it was an accident.
As reported by CBS Miami, King’s father, Tedrick, told them that he knows from the bottom of his heart that the Florida City teenager loved his sister and would never intentionally hurt her. King went on to say that he doesn’t agree with his son’s arrest for manslaughter, saying the teenager has been punished enough by what he knows he did.
He went on to say he was praying for Santiago and that every time the teenager’s birthday comes around, he will never be able to enjoy his birthday again.
Where are these kids getting the guns from😢? Fla. teen celebrating his birthday fatally shoots sisterhttps://t.co/oWNpeccBrj
— Bre (@BC2BS) April 28, 2017
Several youth-related shooting deaths in the Miami-Dade area in recent years
Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez said his department has had to deal with several juvenile shooting deaths over the last few years.
He said he was saddened at the loss of another child to gun violence, adding that this is what happens when youths get a hold of guns.
CBS Miami reports that this isn’t the first time the 17-year-old has been involved in a shooting incident. Santiago and his brother were featured in a report on WLRN-TV last December after they were both shot in a drive-by shooting while seated in a car outside of their home. At the time, Santiago reportedly admitted he was part of a gang. He was shot in the leg in the drive-by while his brother, 15 year-old Martwan Santiago, was left paralyzed from the waist down by the shooting incident. A friend of Santiago’s was shot in the head, but survived the incident.
