VERO BEACH — A 17-year-old boy faces two felony charges after police said he fired rounds at a vehicle – containing an adult driver and three underage passengers – in the parking lot of Sunshine Laundry Centers on Monday. A juvenile struck by the gunfire was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The teenager – whose name is not being mentioned in this article because he is a minor – was charged with aggravated battery with a firearm and shooting a deadly missile into an occupied vehicle. The teen was arrested and booked into the Department of Juvenile Justice in Fort Pierce.
A motive for the shooting was not immediately known. It was unclear if the shooter and victim knew each other.
Vero Beach police responded to reports of gunfire about 6:30 p.m. Monday at Sunshine Laundry Centers, 1405 16th Street, west of U.S. 1. Witnesses told officers that the teenager approached the vehicle on the west end of the parking lot and sprayed bullets at the vehicle, striking the minor.
The shooter then ran on foot south of the laundromat, witnesses told police. The vehicle’s driver sped out of the parking lot onto 16th Street and dropped off the wounded juvenile at a family member’s home about four miles away.
The juvenile was then taken to Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital with a gunshot wound to his lower body, police said.
The witnesses gave officers a description of the suspect. Police searched the parking lot and found four spent bullet casings.
Officers continued to speak with witnesses and reviewed surveillance footage to identify the suspect. Police arrested the teenager at 4 a.m. Wednesday at a residence near Sunshine Laundry Centers.
Police continue to investigate the shooting.
