14-year-old likely to face murder charge in shooting of Broward school football player
A 14-year-old suspect is preparing to face a murder charge after a Deerfield Beach High football player died in the hospital days after he was shot, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
“Broward County State Attorney’s Office is expected to upgrade the attempted second-degree murder charge to murder,” police said Wednesday in a news release.
First reported by the Sun Sentinel, the death of Rickey Ferguson Jr. was announced Tuesday by his mother.
Rickey Ferguson Jr. “has passed on and gained his wings,” his mother, Latasha Ferguson, posted on Facebook.
“It’s not sleep in peace, it’s ball in heaven my sweet baby,” she wrote.
Chelsie Deese, one of the school’s assistant principals, lamented on Twitter the death of Ferguson Jr.
“My heart hurts for the Ferguson family, our students, staff, and community during this difficult time,” Deese said.
On Tuesday, BSO didn’t immediately say when the 16-year-old boy died, but the agency announced the arrest of the 14-year-old boy, whom the Herald did not identify since he’s a minor.
Shortly after 5 p.m. Dec. 28, deputies responded to a call near the 400 block of Southwest Second Street in Deerfield Beach, according to the sheriff’s office. It was there they found that Ferguson Jr. had been shot, and paramedics took him to a hospital.
The suspected shooter was arrested Dec. 30.
This story was originally published January 3, 2023 at 9:43 PM.
