CORAL SPRINGS, FLA. (WSVN) - In a twisty turn of events, two 15-year-old boys who were rushed to the hospital after being stabbed actually attempted to rob the person who injured them, police said.
Coral Springs Police and Fire Rescue responded to the scene along the 500 block of University Drive, near Coral Square Mall, after a reported stabbing, Thursday, just before 7:30 p.m.
According to officials, the teens told police that they were walking home from the Coral Square Mall when they were jumped by a group of seven people. Some of them, the teens said, were wearing hoods and carrying steak knives. The boys said they were stabbed but somehow made their way home.
However, police said, their statement turned out to be false. “Based on the initial information they gave us, it just wasn’t matching up,” said Coral Springs Police Capt. Bradley McKeone. “The physical evidence, the witnesses, where they said it occurred, that they walked to their residence, which is a pretty good distance from here if they actually were the victims of a stabbing.”
One of the teens, who was stabbed in the chest, told his father what had happened. “As far as I know, my son came home, he was holding his side,” said the boy’s father. “He stated that he was jumped by a group of people, a number of people — he didn’t know how many — and that they stabbed him.”
The 15-year-old who was stabbed in the chest was airlifted to a nearby hospital. The second teen, who was stabbed in the ankle, was taken to the hospital by a family member.
The teens initially told police that the incident occurred at one place, then said it happened at another location. Police said that the teens then gave a completely different statement. “It kind of turned out that our two victims are actually also two subjects of an attempted robbery, which occurred in this area, just around the corner from here,” said McKeone.
Police said they were unable to find a crime scene, or a blood trail, or witnesses who saw a large group attacking the teens. After further questioning the teens in the hospital, the truth finally came out. “They actually had planned to meet an individual, at least one other individual, around the corner from here to conduct some type of illegal transaction,” said McKeone. “At that point they decided, instead of doing the transaction, they were maybe going to try and rob that individual.”
Investigators said that man apparently pulled out a knife and acted in self-defense. “It appears that would-be now potential suspect, who we were looking for, is actually a victim of the robbery, and in self-defense, he stabbed two kids as they attempted to do this robbery,” McKeone said.
The investigation continues.
If you have any information on this case, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $3,000 reward.
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