Fort Lauderdale landlord says 2 involved in car burglary that led to shooting

Victim shoots at teen after catching him burglarizing his vehicle, police say

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A suspected teenage burglar remains hospitalized Wednesday after police said his would-be victim shot him.

Local 10 News reporter Terrell Forney spoke with the victim's landlord Wednesday, who said surveillance video has been turned over to detectives.

The incident was reported shortly before 5:30 a.m. Tuesday in the driveway of a duplex on Southwest Sixth Street and Sixth Avenue. 

Police said a tenant who lives at the home shot a 16-year-old boy who was burglarizing his SUV.

"I heard two gunshots, real loud, and a few seconds later, it was three more gunshots I heard, and I looked out the window and saw my neighbor -- he was running outside," Charles Walton said. 

Walton said there were two people who were caught burglarizing the white GMC Yukon.

Walton said his neighbor told him that he had trouble sleeping early Tuesday morning and just happened to be up when the burglary occurred.

"He was sitting downstairs and thought he heard something outside, and he looked outside and it was a couple of guys. One guy at least in the car, another on a bike, and that's when he ran out," Walton said. 

Police said multiple shots were fired and the 16-year old was hit by at least one bullet. 

"There was definitely two, because they ran so fast (that) they ran out of their sandals," Walton said. 

Walton said officers caught up with the pair. The injured teen was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said.

Investigators spent hours interviewing the gunman and potential witnesses and reviewing surveillance video to determine what prompted the tenant to fire his gun.

"One gentleman got out of the car," Walton said. "It looked like he was going to come toward the house and bum-rush him, and that's when he fired two rounds."

The suspects' identities have not been released. 

 


About the Author:

Terrell Forney joined Local 10 News in October 2005 as a general assignment reporter. He was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, but a desire to escape the harsh winters of the north brought him to South Florida.