Florida

2 of 4 Florida Teens Arrested in Drive-By Shooting Were Facing Charges in Boy's Death

The Ocala Police Department released a video of the scene where they said they found the teens "extremely nervous and sweaty"

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Two Florida teenagers previously arrested in connection to the shooting death of a 16-year-old boy earlier this month have been arrested again after a late-night drive-by shooting, authorities said.

The drive-by shooting happened late Wednesday night in Ocala and ended with four teens arrested, Ocala Police Department officials said.

Two of the four teens had been arrested earlier this month after police said they were involved in the death of a teen who with his friend had been taking turns shooting each other while wearing body armor.

On April 3, 15-year-old Christopher Broad was fatally wounded while he and 17-year-old Joshua Vining took turns wearing body armor and shooting each other, according to police.

Colton Whitler, 17, witnessed the shooting and initially lied to police about what had happened, according to authorities.

On Wednesday night, Vining and Whitler were involved in another shooting with two other teens, Jarrett Vining Jr., 19, and a 16-year-old, according to a police report.

Police said an officer had been conducting a traffic stop in Belleview when he heard numerous gunshots being fired nearby.

Dashcam video released by police shows the officer conducting the traffic stop when the sudden burst of gunfire is heard in the background.

The officer headed toward the gunshots and saw a white Mercedes sedan speeding away and running through a stop sign, officials said.

Police were able to stop the Mercedes and found the four teens inside. Police released a video of the scene where they said found the teens "extremely nervous and sweaty."

According to the police report, officers found an empty pistol holster on the front passenger seat and an American Tactical AR-style rifle between the legs of the driver.

A search of the car also turned up a Glock 33 .357 pistol, a Taurus 9mm pistol and a Glock 42 .380 pistol with a laser sight, as well as a spent casing on the rear floorboard, police said.

At the shooting scene, detectives found numerous spent shell casings in the roadway that were consistent with calibers for the guns found in the Mercedes.

Police said an unoccupied dwelling was struck by gunfire multiple times, but there were no reported injuries.

All four teens now face various felony charges including shooting into an unoccupied dwelling, possession of a concealed firearm and discharging a firearm from a vehicle within 1000 feet of a person.

Joshua Vining and Colton Whitler are charged as adults in the case involving the death of Christopher Broad.

"Though I'm extremely proud of the vigilance our police officers had during this shooting incident, I'm also very alarmed that just a few weeks ago, two of these teenagers were involved in a manslaughter case in Belleview that ended another teen's life,” Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken said. "Here they are again with more felony gun charges. This is yet another disturbing example of legislative failures within our juvenile justice system."

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