RIVERVIEW, Fla. (WSVN) — Students were caught in the crossfire after a gunman opened fire trying to intervene in a student fight.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the shooting occurred on Feb. 14 at Eagle Palm Drive and Breezy Palm Drive, just down the street from Spoto High School.
A newly released video captured 24-year-old Jahfahree Prince Edwards firing a barrage of bullets toward moving cars, with students dangerously close to the line of fire. The altercation began when two students were fighting and one of them called Edwards, who arrived armed at the scene.
“When incidents like this happen it takes the wind out of our sails and we’re wondering, how much more do we have to do to really get this message out to people,” said Freddy Barton, associated with Safe & Sound Hillsborough, a program exclusively for youth gun offenders.
Barton started the program in 2022 but he says the real work starts at home.
“You don’t have to pick up firearms in response to anger or a temporary situation,” he said. “You don’t have to put yourself in a situation where your life or someone else’s life can be tragically taken away. Find out what’s going on with your child so that you two can help defuse situations before they escalate out of control.”
Barton says, in just 18 months, 44 teens have graduated from the academy, but he said, it also shows just how much programs like this are needed in Florida.
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