16-year-old accused of entering Florida home during sleepover, fatally stabbing another teen
By Paola Tristan Arruda & Matt Leonard
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SUMTER COUNTY, Florida (WESH) — A 16-year-old was arrested after two people were found suffering from stab wounds in Sumter County Saturday night.
According to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to the 6600 block of County Road 148 around 10:11 p.m. near Lake Okahumpka for a stabbing call. When deputies arrived, they found one adult and one juvenile victim that had been stabbed.
The sheriff’s office said both victims received emergency medical services and were airlifted to receive more care at the hospital. The juvenile victim, 15-year-old Connor Gill, was pronounced dead at the hospital at 1:19 a.m. Sunday.
The adult victim is still recovering from his injuries.
According to the sheriff’s office, the 16-year-old suspect showed up at the house unannounced, where the victim was having a sleepover, and stabbed Gill after he opened the door.
The 16-year-old suspect’s identity will not be released due to their age.
The adult victim was also stabbed by the suspect after coming to see what was going on, and a third person was threatened by the suspect.
Michael Carr lives in the house where the incident happened, and he said he witnessed the stabbing.
“The first thing [the suspect] did, he swung at Connor, and then we went to go this way and he turned to me,” Carr said. “I backed up to the kitchen where there were knives, trying to find some protection, and he was like, don’t get involved.”
Carr said the adult victim who was stabbed is his best friend and Connor’s father. He said Connor and the suspect knew each other.
“[Connor] is a good kid. You know, He just was awesome. To take a 15-year-old’s life, that is just crazy wrong,” Carr said.
The teen suspect had fled from the house where the stabbing occurred on foot.
The sheriff’s office said both the suspect and Gill were being homeschooled after withdrawing from Sumter County Schools.
Sumter County Sheriff’s Office deputies later found the teen suspect, who was then arrested and transported to the Sumter County Jail. He is now facing charges of premeditated first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, and armed burglary.
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