16-Year-Old Arrested For Shooting At Clearwater Beach ‘Teen Takeover: Police

CLEARWATER, FL — A 16-year-old boy was arrested Monday evening in connection with a shooting during Sunday’s Clearwater Beach “teen takeover” that injured a 17-year-old.

The suspect was taken into custody in Haines City around 7:45 p.m. with help from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Clearwater police Deputy Chief Michael Walek said during a Tuesday news conference.

The teen was charged with second-degree attempted murder, discharging a firearm in public and unlawful possession of a firearm by a minor, Walek said. He’s being held at the Polk County Jail.

Though law enforcement has named the suspect, it’s Patch policy not to name a minor accused of a crime unless they’re charged as an adult. It’s not known whether the suspect is being charged as a juvenile or an adult.

• Also Read: 17-Year-Old Shot At 'Teen Takeover' At Clearwater Beach

Police received reports of “a shooting during a fight” in the 100 block of Coronado Drive on Sunday around 5:15 p.m., Walek previously said.

Officers found the gunshot victim at the scene with injuries that weren’t thought to be life-threatening at the time.

The victim remains hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries to the leg, arm and chest.

The “senseless act of violence” stemmed from a dispute between two groups that started about a month ago in Winter Haven, Walek said.

There was a fight involving the groups earlier Sunday, before the “teen takeover.”

The victim told investigators that the dispute involved social media and “party-related rivalries,” the deputy chief said.

The suspect, who fired seven shots during the incident, refused to speak with detectives, Walek added.

The Clearwater Police Department’s Threat Management Unit learned about 11 planned “teen takeover”-style events on Clearwater Beach since December.

Nine of those were canceled and “two never materialized,” Walek said.

The department learned of another posted online yesterday, which was quashed with assistance from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

“This kind of reckless and criminal behavior will not be tolerated on Clearwater Beach or anywhere in our city,” he said.

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