PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Two teenage brothers are facing charges after a family fight turned deadly on Christmas Eve in Largo, authorities said.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said the 14-year-old and 15-year-old got into an argument while Christmas shopping with the family on Sunday. According to the sheriff, the 14-year-old was jealous over the number of gifts their mother was buying his brother.
After leaving the store, the brothers, their mother, their 23-year-old sister Abrielle Baldwin, and her 11-month-old and 6-year-old sons headed to their grandmother’s home so she could watch the children while Baldwin went to work.
While at the grandmother’s home, located on 22nd Avenue Southwest in Largo, the 14-year-old pulled out his gun and told his brother he was going to shoot him in the head, authorities said.
“The fact that you get upset, you get two 14-, 15-year-olds that get upset with each other because one got more, I mean, that happens,” said Sheriff Gualtieri. “That’s just kid stuff. But not with guns.”
“The problem is, you got way too many kids out there with way too many guns,” the sheriff said.
Initially, the 15-year-old refused to engage in the fight and the boys’ uncle separated them. The 14-year-old reportedly left the home and went outside. His sister told them to “leave that stuff alone. Why you trying to start it, it’s Christmas.”
Then the 14-year-old and Baldwin, who was carrying her 11-month-old son in a baby carrier, began to argue. The 14-year-old turned to his sister and called her a number of derogatory terms.
“And stated that he was going to shoot her and that he was going to quote ‘shoot the baby too,” Gualtieri said.
The 14-year-old shot his sister in her left arm with a .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun, according to the sheriff’s office. The bullet reportedly went through her arm and into her chest.
“Unfortunately, Abrielle Baldwin was transported to Largo Medical Center hospital here in Largo with a single gunshot wound to her chest,” Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said. “She was pronounced dead at the hospital.”
“She was just a woman going about life doing her thing with her two kids,” said Sheriff Gualtieri. “Trying to make a living, trying to make it and her brother killed her.”
After the shooting, the 15-year-old reportedly shot his younger brother in the stomach, saying, “you shot my m***** f****** sister.”
The 15-year-old ran away and threw his gun into a nearby yard. He was arrested at a relative’s home in Clearwater, according to the sheriff’s office. He was transported to a mental health facility after making comments about self-harm, per authorities.
“If we don’t slow it down, we got a big problem,” the sheriff said. “I’ve never seen it as bad as it is with the number of crime guns that are on the street.”
The 14-year-old, who was shot once in his stomach, was taken to the hospital and underwent surgery. Their sister died from her injuries.
“Now you got an 11-month-old and a 6-year-old boy,” Sheriff Gualtieri lamented. “Their mom’s dead.”
The 14-year-old is charged with first-degree murder, child abuse, and being a delinquent in possession of a firearm. The 15-year-old is charged with attempted first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence.
The Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney’s Office will review the case and decide if the 14-year-old will be charged as an adult.
“The laws need to change,” said Sheriff Gualtieri. “We need to get serious and we need to get tough and these kids need to get locked up. Send a message.”
The sheriff said both of the teenage boys stole the guns from unlocked cars. PCSO has received 17 reports of stolen guns out of unlocked cars in the last 30 days.
“This proliferation of guns on the streets and guns in this area and guns in the hands of these kids,” said Sheriff Gualtieri. “This is the worst I’ve ever seen it. I don’t think we’ve ever seen it this bad.”
Sheriff Gualtieri said gun owners need to keep their guns out of their cars and locked up to prevent them from ending up in the wrong hands.
