ORLANDO, Fla. – Two 17-year-olds have been arrested in an Orlando drive-by shooting that killed a 6-year-old girl and 19-year-old man, marking the third and fourth arrests in the case, according to police.
Kny Adams, 17, was arrested Tuesday and Brandon James Pickett, 17, was arrested Wednesday on first-degree homicide charges stemming from the Aug. 29 shooting on Poppy Avenue.
Two others were arrested earlier this week, 15-year-old Nico Brown and 18-year-old Ricky Raymond Bowery Jr. Both also face charges of first-degree homicide.
The Orlando Police Department said Ajahliyah Hashim, 6, and her mother were shot in their home and taken to the hospital, where the girl later died.
A third person, 19-year-old Isaiyah Wright, was dropped off at Health Central in Ocoee and was later pronounced dead.
“I heard the rapid gunfire and I called 911,” said a woman who lives nearby and asked to remain anonymous for her family’s safety. “They were really shooting.”
The department said the girl and her mother were not the intended targets of the shooting.
Susan Williams lives in the Carver Shores neighborhood where the shooting took place. She said while neighbors are upset about what happened, she said because of the recent arrests, they’re beginning to feel safe again.
“It’s making a sigh of relief come to the neighborhood,” Williams said.
Williams urges young people involved in violence to examine what it means for their lives and the people around them.
“You’re only 15 years old,” Williams said. “You’ll be older than me if you get out, if you make it. Look at the life you’re doing for yourself. Look at the pressure you’re putting on your parents and look at the other kids under you looking at you.”
State Attorney Andrew Bain said his office would look at charging the suspects under 18 as adults.
“The path to a safer community begins with swift and decisive action against violent criminals and those responsible for heinous crimes, such as the one that has recently occurred,” Bain wrote in a statement. “The lives and well-being of our residents are of paramount importance and we stand united in our commitment to address this alarming trend that threatens public safety and challenges the very principles of peace and unity that we hold dear.”
An investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to call Crimeline at 800-423-8477.
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