Two boys aged 12 and 17 have been arrested and a 16-year-old boy remains on the run following the killings of three teenagers in Marion County, Florida.
Sheriff Billy Woods said his office worked with other agencies to connect the three suspects to each other after the three teens were found dead or dying near each other in Ocklawaha last week, according to WFTV.
The teen victims, one boy and two girls, were discovered with gunshot wounds in the rural county days apart. One girl was discovered in a dumpster, the boy was found next to a road, and the body of the third teenager was found in the trunk of a vehicle partially submerged in a body of water, according to the sheriff.
“They fled but left a lot of evidence in their wake,” the sheriff told the press. The suspects face first-degree murder charges.
Regarding the third suspect who remains on the run, the sheriff said, “Some of you know him, know where he is and you need to turn him in”.
“I will get him, I will find him and justice will be complete,” he added.
While the sheriff said the shootings don’t appear to be connected to a gang rivalry, he did say that the suspects are all connected to gangs.
“Each and every one of them was in some shape or form ... associated with a gang,” the sheriff said on Friday.
He added that the young suspects are known to commit other crimes, such as burglaries and robberies in the same area, which is how they got hold of the firearm used in the killings.
The sheriff said the victims are also believed to have been involved in gang-related activity as well as burglaries and robberies, according to ABC News.
“Basically, in simple terms, there is no honour among thieves,” Sheriff Woods said during the press briefing. “And at some point, these three individuals turned on our three victims and murdered them.”
“Not only are the victims juveniles, but the murderers are juveniles as well,” he said, according to CNN.
The teens were found either dead or dying next to a road close to Ocklawaha, about 60 miles northwest of Orlando.
One of the teenagers has been named. Layla Silvernail, 16, was alive when she was found on 30 March but was set to be taken off life support, the page for a GoFundMe fundraiser organised by her softball league states.
“Layla is showing no brain activity and her family has decided to donate her organs so she can help others in the wake of this tragedy,” the page says.
She was found in a dumpster close to Forest Lakes Park with a gunshot wound to the head, according to WCJB.
An unidentified boy, 17, was found shot dead beside a road on 31 March within a mile of where Layla was located. Another 16-year-old girl was discovered on 1 April shot and killed inside the trunk of Layla’s car, which had been partially plunged into a lake nine miles from where Layla was found.
Sheriff Woods said the three victims and the three suspects had all been inside Layla’s car at one point when the suspects “turned on our three victims”.
He added that the motive was robbery.
“They took a life without thought. They deserve the full extent of the law,” Sheriff Woods said, according to ABC.
Russell Pierce, the CEO of Southeastern Fastpitch, a softball tournament company, said Layla was “a caring young lady, an amazing athlete, and a cherished teammate to so many young girls”.
“She was a softball player from a young age and played for many teams in both recreation and travel softball,” Mr Pierce said in a statement, according to ABC. “She was known for uplifting new and younger teammates and encouraging them to play hard and believe in themselves. She was truly a gifted softball player.”
The other victims haven’t been named.
