The rewards for information about the persons behind the drive by shootings earlier this week that killed a 3-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy are now up to $20,000.
The first of the two shootings happened around 11 p.m. Monday and left 14-year-old Evans High School student Dennis Joshua Atkinson dead, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. A 15-year-old boy was also injured.
Then on Tuesday around 9 p.m., Daquane James Felix Jr. was fatally shot while he was inside his home on Drexel Avenue, according to investigators.
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The toddler’s grandmother said Daquane was in the living room when she heard what sounded like firecrackers and discovered her grandson had been shot in the head.
Orange County Sheriff John Mina said the two shootings are tied to an ongoing gang feud in the area.
Initially, the Crimeline reward for information about the shootings was $5,000, but the sheriff’s office said with a donation from the Florida Sheriff’s Association Criminal Apprehension Assistance Program and an additional donation from the sheriff’s office, the reward is now $20,000 each for both shootings.
“We are pleading with the community to step up and help us solve these tragic and heinous murders,” Mina said. “We know there are people out there who know the identities of the shooters. We need you to help us get those violent criminals off the streets of our county.”
Anyone with information about the shootings can call Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS.