MELBOURNE, Fla. – A 16-year-old boy was shot and killed Wednesday in Melbourne, according to police.
The Melbourne Police Department said shots were fired around 6:50 p.m. in the area of Xavier Drive and Marshall Avenue. Officers found multiple shell casings but did not locate anyone nearby.
Minutes later, the boy arrived to Holmes Regional Medical Center with gunshot wounds and died.
The teen’s name has not been released while police try to contact his family.
Chief David Gillespie released a statement on the investigation:
This is a senseless incident that resulted in the tragic loss of a youth in our community. While the investigation is ongoing, I am able to say that this was not a random incident. However, we need the community’s help. I urge anyone with information to contact the Melbourne Police Department at 321-608-6731.
The Melbourne Police Department will continue to aggressively patrol the area and vigorously investigate this incident until we are able to bring the perpetrator to justice.
Chief David Gillespie
The department said this shooting and other recent shootings are being investigated to determine whether they’re connected.
However, Gillespie said the shooting was not random.
Shawn Barton, a resident along Marshall Avenue, said he heard the shots on Wednesday night. Barton is a student at Eastern Florida State College.
“I just heard a bunch of automatic gunfire,” he told News 6.
The neighborhood is also close to University Park Elementary School and Florida Tech.
Barton said that back on Sunday, there was another shooting in the neighborhood.
Through dispatch audio, police reported that bullets struck a neighbor’s house on Wednesday night. A bullet hole could be seen through a nearby garage.
In May, less than two miles from the scene on Wednesday night, Melbourne police said a 16-year-old was shot along Cedar Drive.
Kobe Kirkland later died at the hospital, as well.
Pastor Bernard Wigley of Thy Kingdom Come Ministries said that Kirkland was a hardworking member of his church.
“Our hearts were really heavy,” Wigley said of Kirkland’s death.
Wigley thinks he knows the family of Wednesday’s homicide, as well.
“We’re fed up with it,” he said of local young lives lost to gun violence. “Just pray for the community and for covering and protection of our youth.”
Anyone with information is asked to call 321-608-6731 or Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS.
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