SOUTH MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A 15-year-old boy has been arrested and charged after, officials said, he accidentally shot and killed two teenagers in Southwest Miami-Dade.
Miami-Dade Police officers responded to the home in the area of Southwest 192nd Avenue and West Mowry Drive at around 6:45 p.m., Monday.
Officials said 14-year-old Julio Labrada and 15-year-old Jose Villarreal III were at a friend’s house with the accused, 15-year-old Joseph Blanco.
Detectives said Blanco was playing with a gun when it accidentally went off.
7News cameras captured the front yard blocked off with crime scene tape as detectives made their way in and out of the home.
Investigators said one bullet killed both victims.
Labrada and Villarreal III were pronounced dead at the scene.
A woman who lives in the area told 7News that she saw police through her window but did not hear the gunshot.
Students at Keys Gate Charter School mourned the loss of Labrada, who was in the eighth grade, Tuesday.
“A lot of girls were crying and upset about what had happened,” one student said.
“I was very sad, and he seemed like a really good person,” a second student said. “Just things like that shouldn’t happen to kids.”
Corinne Baez, the principal of the school, released a statement that read in part, “The Keys Gate Charter family is deeply saddened by the loss of Julio Labrada. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family as they go through this very difficult time.”
Meanwhile, investigators were at the home Tuesday removing a water heater that had a bullet hole to its side.
Villarreal III was a student at Gateway Environmental K-8 Learning Center.
Crisis counselors were at both school campuses to help students that were affected by the tragedy on Tuesday.
Blanco has been charged with manslaughter. He has not yet made his first court appearance.
His first court date has been scheduled for Dec. 17.
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