RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — A social media gun sale ended with a 17-year-old girl shot in the head and three teenage boys charged with murder, Riviera Beach police said Tuesday.
The shooting happened shortly after 8 p.m. Aug. 21 at Goodmark Park, near the 1400 block of West 36th Street. But police did not publicly reveal the circumstances surrounding the shooting or announce the arrests until this week—more than a month later.
CBS12’s Paige Meyer reports.
Riviera Beach Police Chief Michael Coleman said the girl arranged through social media to meet three teenage boys and sell them a firearm.
Investigators allege the boys never intended to buy it. Police said they planned to rob her, and the encounter escalated into gunfire.
“That attempted robbery escalated into violence, and a young life was cut short,” Coleman said.
Officers found the girl suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. She later died.
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Police identified the accused shooter only as a 17-year-old boy. He faces charges of premeditated first-degree murder with a firearm, principal in the first degree and tampering with a witness, victim or informant.
The other two suspects, both 16, each face charges of first-degree murder, principal in the first degree and attempted armed robbery.
Police said one boy was arrested in Jacksonville and the other two were arrested in Riviera Beach with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
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Coleman said two of the three suspects had previous involvement with law enforcement and had been “in the system” for several years.
Police said the victim and suspects knew one another from the community but were not friends. All four attended schools in Palm Beach County, and some attended the same school. Investigators declined to identify those schools.
Police also have not released the victim’s name or the suspects’ names. Coleman said the boys’ identities cannot be released while their cases proceed through the juvenile legal system. Police said they are also withholding information identifying the victim because she was a juvenile.
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Investigators said Flock license plate reader cameras helped track the suspects’ vehicle after it left the park.
“As soon as the car left the area, we have a lot of technology in this city, and we were able to track that vehicle to their home,” Coleman said.
Coleman called the cameras “invaluable” to the investigation.
Several central questions remain unanswered because police declined to release additional details while the investigation continues.
Police would not say where the girl obtained the gun she intended to sell, whether investigators recovered it or whether it was the weapon used to kill her. Investigators also would not explain the witness-tampering charge against the accused shooter or say whether the boys intended to kill the girl before arriving at the park.
Coleman said investigators are examining whether anyone else—including a parent or relative—provided a gun, vehicle or other assistance. Police said additional arrests or charges remain possible.
The three boys were being held at the Palm Beach County Juvenile Assessment Center as of Tuesday. They have not been charged as adults, and Coleman said that decision will be made through the legal process.
