A 10-year-old girl was arrested Tuesday after authorities said she fatally shot a woman who was arguing with her mother, according to the Orlando Police Department.
The child was placed in the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families, according to police.
In a statement following the shooting, Orange and Osceola Counties State Attorney Monique H. Worrell said her office has begun reviewing the case and “will consider all facts, including the age of the child and all surrounding circumstances, when making a decision on prosecution.”
“We want to be clear in stating that no prosecution decisions have been made by our office,” the state attorney’s statement said, adding that the incident was “one of the most tragic cases I have seen in my 22-year career.”
The child’s mother is also in custody, according to Orlando police.
Witnesses told police the shooting took place on the night of May 30, when the child’s mother and victim, Lashun Denise Rodgers, 41, began arguing outside an apartment complex, according to an arrest report. .
The child was with the mother at the time of the argument, according to the police report, which cited witnesses.
The mother allegedly started a physical altercation by punching Lashun, who retaliated by punching her in the back, the arrest report says, citing Lashun’s boyfriend as a witness.
The boyfriend told authorities he tried to break up the fight, but the victim tried to “fight” her mother, according to the report. He then allegedly saw the child holding a black firearm before firing “one or two shots” at Lashun, the report shows. The child then yelled “she shouldn’t have hit my mother”, the boyfriend told police.
Lashun was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where she later died, according to police spokeswoman Heidi Rodriguez.
The girl’s mother was taken into custody and the child was placed in the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families, police said.
THE CNN contacted the child’s mother’s attorney, but did not receive a response. THE CNN was unable to obtain information about the attorney for the child involved.
Police said the investigation is ongoing.
Source: CNN Brasil
