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MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Florida. – A 15-year-old boy is facing multiple charges in connection with the shooting death of a 17-year-old boy in northwest Miami-Dade.
Miami-Dade police announced Wednesday that the suspect faces charges of manslaughter, possession of a firearm by a minor and improper exposure of a firearm.
The shooting was reported just after 1 p.m. Tuesday at a Sierra Drive home.
Authorities say the victim, Mekhi Stevenson, his 15-year-old brother and three other male friends were in a room in the house when one of the friends pulled out a gun to show the group.
Police say the suspect was ordered to put the gun away, but he pointed it at the victim and the gun discharged, hitting the victim in the chest.
Stevenson attempted to walk to one of the doors of the house, but collapsed to the ground, authorities said.
Police said Stevenson’s friends fled the scene.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials responded to the scene, along with police, and pronounced the victim dead at the scene.
While police were able to arrest the suspected shooter, they are still looking for two other boys involved in the shooting.
A Miami-Dade County Public Schools spokesperson confirmed Tuesday that Stevenson was not a current student in the district, but played football at North Miami Senior High School.
The victim’s coach, along with members of his friends and family, mourned him at the scene of the shooting on Tuesday.
“He was my quarterback,” coach Gerald Cox said in tears. “(He was a) kid who did everything I asked of him. He broke his ass for me. Took us to the playoffs…we’ll miss him.
“I want the world to know that Mekhi really was a great boy,” said Anthon Samuel, Stevenson’s brother. “I just don’t want this incident to be a misrepresentation of who he was.”
Anyone with further information is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.
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