Two adolescent brothers were arrested in Florida after their older sister was tragically shot during an alleged argument about who had received more Christmas gifts.
Abrielle Baldwin, 23, was shot in the chest by her 14-year-old brother after she told him to “stop arguing because it was Christmas,” according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s office.
The other brother, who was 15 at the time, allegedly pulled out a second weapon and shot his brother in the stomach before fleeing the scene.
Baldwin, who was wearing her 11-month-old son in a baby carrier at the time of the shooting, was rushed to the hospital and confirmed dead.
Baldwin had internal bleeding and couldn’t breathe, but the baby in the carrier was unharmed.
The 14-year-old was also rushed to the hospital and is now in stable condition. He was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, child abuse, and being a delinquent with a firearm. The 15-year-old boy was also taken into custody and charged with attempted first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence.
According to the department, he was taken to a mental health facility due to self-harm remarks and will be sent to the care of the Pinellas Juvenile Assessment Center once he is freed.
The teenage lads are not identified by The Independent since they are minors.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said during a press conference on Tuesday that the three siblings went shopping on Christmas Eve with their mother and Baldwin’s 11-month-old and six-year-old sons.
They then drove to their grandmother’s house, where the three got into a verbal spat about Christmas gifts.
“They had this family spat about who was getting what and what money was being spent on who and they’re having this big thing going on in the store and they’re all arguing with each other,” he went on to say.
“So you got the 14-year-old who’s mad at the 15-year-old because mom’s not buying equal amounts of gifts”. He claimed that the younger kid had threatened to shoot his sibling in the head. According to the sheriff, the incident occurred when Baldwin urged her younger brother to stop bickering because it was Christmas.
“‘You guys need to leave that stuff alone,’ Baldwin replied. Why are you attempting to begin it? “It’s Christmas,” Sheriff Gaultier says.
Local prosecutors will investigate the matter and decide whether to charge the 14-year-old as an adult for his sister’s suspected murder.
According to the sheriff, young people obtain firearms by purchasing them on the street for a low price because they have been stolen or by discovering them while breaking into automobiles.
“In the last thirty days, we’ve taken reports where 17 guns have been stolen from unlocked cars,” he went on to say.
“This proliferation of guns on the streets, in this area, and in these kids’ hands is the worst I’ve ever seen.” I don’t think we’ve ever seen anything like it. We need your assistance since we have a problem.”
The investigation into the tragic gunshot is still underway.
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