LAKELAND, Fla. – An 18-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy were arrested in the pellet gun shooting of three children at Highland City Ballpark in Lakeland, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Jordan Hawes, 18, and Terrell Covington, 17, are facing three counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
Recommended Videos
[TRENDING: Ana, is that you? | Teacher accused of distributing child porn | Fla. couple lured, tortured bears]
The shots caused welts on the 10, 12 and 13-year-old victims, all boys, according to deputies.
Deputies said around 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday law enforcement officers responded to the park in reference to two people in a white Mercedes shooting at children.
The sheriff’s office said Hawes and Covington were located and deputies said Hawes was the driver of the Mercedes and was filming the incident on his phone while Covington did the shooting.
Deputies took Hawes’ phone and his pellet gun into evidence.
“The suspects thought it would be funny to shoot at children with their pellet gun. Clearly, it wasn’t fun for the children; they could have been seriously injured by the pellets. In fact, there was a warning right on the gun that stated that it could cause serious injury,” Sheriff Grady Judd said.
Deputies said the pellet gun seized at the scene is designed to fire 7.5 mm water beads at a rate of 8 per second at a velocity of 200 feet per second.
The sheriff’s office said the pellets are meant to be soaked in water to be softened.
Hawes was transported to the Polk County Jail and Covington was taken to the juvenile assessment center in Bartow.