TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A child was killed and another was rushed to the hospital after a shooting in Tampa on Sunday.
The Tampa Police Department said officers were called to a home on East 111th Avenue just before 2:00 p.m. to investigate a reported shooting.
Officers found a 12-year-old dead with a gunshot wound inside the home. They also found a 14-year-old with a gunshot wound to their upper body. The teenager was taken to the hospital, where they are currently in stable condition.
Tampa police said the two injured children did not live at the home and there were “additional juveniles” present at the time of the shooting. The agency said that based on their preliminary investigation, there were no adults in the home at the time and the incident does not appear to be random.
Diana LaGrone lives just down the street and says the neighborhood has changed and crime in the area is now a real problem.
“Adults have got to be more responsible. Lock your guns up. This should have never happened. He’s 12 years old,” LaGrone said.
Tampa Police are not identifying those who were shot or how the weapon used in the shooting was obtained, but Interim Police Chief Lee Bercaw saaid gun owners need to secure their weapons.
“For now, it’s securing the access, lock your firearm, put a lock on it, don’t leave it in your car,” Bercaw said.
Detectives are still interviewing the other children who were in the home, in addition to an adult guardian who lives there, according to the Tampa Police Department.
