BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A 16-year-old boy will be tried as an adult in court after police say he was behind the gun that shot and killed a toddler.
The teen is facing a manslaughter with a firearm charge after 2-year-old Brayden Howard was shot to death in December of 2020.
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Cocoa police said the teen was among friends at a home on Owosso Street. The group had at least two guns with them, according to investigators.
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Officers learned the 16-year-old found Howard handling a revolver and grabbed the gun from the toddler to make sure it wasn’t loaded. The teen ended up firing the gun, according to police.
Investigators deemed the shooting was not intentional but left the case to the state attorney’s office to decide on the prosecution.
Just before the new year, State Attorney Phil Archer decided the teen could be tried as an adult, filing a direct notice to do so.