11-year-old youth football player arrested for shooting two 13-year-old teammates

An 11-year-old youth football player is now facing a second-degree attempted murder charge after

allegedly shooting two of his young teammates during practice following a fight over a bag of chips.

The child who has not been named due to his age, is facing one count of attempted second-degree

murder. 

Apopka Police Chief Michael McKinley who addressed a news conference on Tuesday morning, said the

boy grabbed the gun from an unlocked box in his mother’s SUV and fired toward another teammate,

hitting him in the back. That same round is believed to have then struck another juvenile in the arm.

Both kids were taken to the hospital and are expected to fully recover. McKinley said; 

“As a society we need to reflect on this. We see this too often in our society now.

“Juveniles, young juveniles…that have access to guns, but the more disturbing part is that they believe

that gun, that firearm, is a resolution to their problem. And it’s not a resolution to anybody’s problems. It

just creates more problems for everybody involved.”

The mother of the 11-year-old may reportedly face charges for leaving the weapon accessible.

At least 1,327 children have been killed and another 3,580 have been injured by guns so far this year,

according to the Gun Violence Archive.