The gunshot death of an 11-year-old boy at a home on 11th Avenue and 34th Street in St. Petersburg on Friday left a neighborhood in ruins.
The 14-year-old suspect, identified by police as Gavin Santos-Brown, is suspected by investigators of shooting and killing his friend after a fight.
The St. Petersburg Police Department’s Ashley Limardo stated, “Our victim and a suspect were visiting this home, or visiting a friend when an argument had ensued.”
Marcella Friedman, a neighbor, expressed shock that Veondre Hargrove, the victim, was discovered dead inside a house.
“I feel bad,” Friedman stated. “He was a good kid. I am shaking my head when I realized that was him when he didn’t come back and get the bike.”
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Investigators stated that Santos-Brown was acquainted with the deceased, and our neighbors informed us that they socialized frequently—a somber relationship that the neighbors find difficult to understand.
“He is a good kid too,” Friedman stated. “He is in my house all the time. I don’t know what provoked it.”
She expressed her curiosity as to whether Veondre’s death could have been avoided.
“He wanted me to take him to Gulfport to fish, and I feel like maybe if I took him, he would be alive,” Friedman stated. “It is just sad, a waste of a life. He was a good kid too.”
