A Florida teen, Christopher Leroy Broad, 15, died after he took a turn shooting with friends while wearing a vest with body armor. Two Florida teens - Joshua Vining and Colton Whitler- were arrested for aggravated manslaughter of a child with a firearm after police discovered evidence that Vining shot their friend, Broad, on the night of April 3, as per Belleview Police Department.
The police investigation
Investigators learned that Broad and 17-year-old Vining had been taking turns shooting each other while wearing a vest that contained a form of body armor. The police said that Vining hit Broad while he was wearing the vest.
According to the department, officers responded to the shooting at around 7 p.m. on Sunday on the 10400 block of SE 52nd Court, where they found the victim inside a residence. The boy was taken to the hospital, where he succumbed later.
An 18-year-old Evan Vowell, who was with the group, recorded the shooting on his cellphone and turned over the footage to police as evidence, ClickOrlando.com reported. The police also indicated in their affidavit that a third teenager told them he had recorded the shootings using Snapshot on his iPhone. The teenager saved the video of Vining being shot but deleted the video of broad's turn. However, a technician was able to recover the shooting of Broad.
Vowell said Vining preceded the shooting by showing him, Broad and Whitler, and another juvenile a 9-mm gun and a vest. He then asked if they had ever seen anyone get shot while wearing a bulletproof vest.
In the video, Broad is seen firing a single shot at Vining, who was wearing the vest, as Whitler stood nearby. Broad and Vining switched roles, with Vining shooting Broad in the vest once. Broad nodded, then Vining shot Broad four more times.
According to CNN, the probable cause affidavit revealed that Vining was doing CPR on Broad when the police arrived. The medical examiner's office said the cause of Broad's death was a single shot to the chest. The manner of death was listed as homicide.
Witness provided the police with the wrong information
Whitler, whom the police first interviewed as a witness, allegedly misled investigators with false information about the shooting and who shot Broad.
Whitler first told the investigators that their house was fired at based on affidavits, and his friend got shot in the chest. He also said that he did not know any of the suspects involved. The police, however, found no evidence of the residence being fired at. When the police later interviewed him, Whitler claimed that Vowell shot broad.
Vining and Whitler were both accused of providing false information to law enforcement. Vining and Whitler are being charged as adults. Vining posted a $30,000 bond on April 8, as per Marion County Sheriff's Office inmate search website, while Whitler posted a $1,000 surety bond on April 8, the county inmate search said.
