Cops: Shooting outside Hialeah Target was botched gun sale; teen charged with felony murder

A 15-year-old has been charged with felony murder after police say he took part in an armed robbery in a Hialeah Target parking lot that ended in his friend getting shot and killed.

According to police, Raul Araujo and his 17-year-old cohort made an arrangement online to buy two guns from a man. After exchanging texts, they agreed to complete the deal in the parking lot of the Target on the 1700 block of West 37th Street. They met Sunday evening around 5:30 p.m.

The gun seller got the cash but, using a counterfeit “detector pen,” he realized the cash was fake, according to an arrest report by Hialeah Detective Magela Gonzalez. He “advised” the teens of his discovery.

Araujo suddenly pulled out a pistol from his waistband and pointed it at the seller, while the 17-year-old grabbed the two unloaded guns, the report said.

The seller, however, was himself armed — he whipped out a gun from his fanny pack and “in fear” fired at the teens, who ran off, the report said. The 17-year-old, Steve Arnoux, was shot in the chest, and pronounced dead at Jackson Memorial Hospital. Araujo was treated for a wound to the arm.

Araujo is being charged with second-degree felony murder and armed robbery with a firearm. In Florida, someone who participates in certain violent felonies — in this case, armed robbery — can be charged with felony murder if someone dies during the act. The seller is believed to have acted in self-defense and does not face any charges.

According to the police, Araujo “corroborated” the sequence of events, but denied having a firearm during the armed robbery. The gun Araujo wielded, according to Hialeah police, was itself stolen — “taken in a separate armed robbery,” according to a department spokesman.

This story was originally published December 13, 2021 at 11:38 AM.