LAUDERDALE LAKES, Fla. (WSVN) — Police are searching for the gunman who shot and killed a teenager in his South Florida home.
Broward Sheriff's Office detectives said Monday afternoon they responded to the fatal shooting at the home located on the 3700 block of Northwest 27th Avenue.
Investigators said Steven Rutty's body was found in the bathroom by his stepfather. Neighbors said the door to the bathroom appeared to have been kicked in. "The mother was the last one to see him alive when she went to work Monday morning," said BSO spokesperson Mike Jachles. "The stepfather discovered him deceased late Monday afternoon just before 4 p.m." Family members cried out in disbelief and the teen's mother ran to the residence, then collapsed when she was told that her 18-year-old son had been killed. "She's very unstable," said family friend Jennifer Granville. "She don't stabilize, her pressure is very high."
Neighbors who spent the afternoon with the family said the home had been ransacked. "We never had nothing like this [happen] over here before," said nearby resident Venice Jones. "It's shocking, to say the least."
Tuesday morning the teen's stepfather returned to the scene with detectives in hopes of determining a motive for Rutty's death and to find the culprit. Marlon Channer told 7News he didn't see his stepson on the day he died but he heard him speak to his mother. "Yesterday morning I didn't see him but I heard him, because his mom was speaking to him, letting him know that he can't come in the house at such and such time," he said. "That was the last time I heard her speak to him."
Channer added that the teen's mother was so distraught that she spent the night in the hospital.
If you have any information on this homicide, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward.
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