16-month-old boy dies after being shot in a West Palm Beach alley. Cops search for killer
A 16-month-old boy was shot in a West Palm Beach alleyway Thursday night and later died. The baby’s killer or killers are still on the loose with a $10,000 reward for their capture, police said.
Around 6 p.m. Thursday, a mother and father were sitting in a car with their child in the back seat in an alleyway near the 900 block of Fourth Street, West Palm Beach police said.
An unknown person or persons then ran up to the car and started shooting before running away. The baby boy was critically injured and the mother was grazed.
West Palm Beach police officers near the area of Douglass Avenue heard gunshots and immediately searched the area as a gunshot detection alerting system confirmed the location of the shots.
The father drove the wounded mother and baby to a trauma center, where officers later met them. Police say the boy underwent surgery into the early hours of Friday but died later that morning. The mother was treated and released.
It’s unclear how many shooters there were or their identity. Motive is still unclear, but police believe the shooting was targeted.
“This was not a random attack,” Mike Jachles, a West Palm Beach police spokesman, said.
“The fact that this is a horrific crime, that took a baby from a family, the police department is committed to expending any and all resources to see that justice is done,” Jachles said.
Detectives and patrol officers have been canvassing the area with reward fliers and are talking to neighbors and businesses.
West Palm Beach Police Chief Frank Adderley announced the $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of those involved.
For that reward, anyone with information can reach out to Detective Aaron Sam at 561-822-1675 or asam@wpb.org and Detective Darrin MacCarthy at 561-822-1666 or dmaccarthy@wpb.org.
CrimeStoppers is also offering an up to $3,000 cash reward for tips that lead to an arrest. Tips can anonymously be called in to Crime Stoppers of Palm Beach County at 800-458-8477 and at www.crimestopperspbc.com.
“We rely on the public to be our eyes and ears,” Jachles said.
This story was originally published April 8, 2022 at 6:29 PM.
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