A teen was shot. A student was found with a gun. Cops think there’s a connection
A Broward County high school student was found with a firearm on campus the same morning another teen arrived at a hospital with a gunshot wound, leading Fort Lauderdale police to say they think the two are connected.
Police began stringing the two incidents together shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday when a Fort Lauderdale officer assigned to Broward Health Medical Center was told of a 16-year-old boy who had been shot being treated there, said Detective Ali Adamson, a department spokeswoman.
The boy told the officer he accidentally shot himself in the 1100 block of Northwest 24th Avenue, Adamson said. His injuries were not life threatening, she said.
Later in the morning, a student at nearby Dillard High School, located at 2401 NW 11th St., was found armed with a gun on campus. School staff were the first to find the weapon, and they notified an officer assigned to the campus, Adamson said.
“He was detained without further incident,” Adamson said.
Police did not name the victim. The Miami Herald is not naming the other boy, who is also 16, because he is a minor. He is being charged with possession of a firearm on school property, Adamson said.
Police linked him to the wounded teen because police found personal items belonging to the other boy in his backpack, Adamson said.
“Additional evidence, consistent with the shooting, were also discovered in the backpack and on the 16-year-old at the hospital,” she said.
This story was originally published February 22, 2024 at 1:38 PM.
