A 17-year-old was killed in Bradenton. Two teenagers arrested on murder charges

Two 14-year-old boys have been arrested on suspicion of murder in the death of another teenager in Bradenton on Tuesday, according to the Bradenton Police Department.

Angel Villafranca, a 17-year-old male, was found shot to death inside of a vehicle in the 1800 block of Martin Luther King Avenue East on Tuesday afternoon, police said.

Detectives were able to identify two suspects in the shooting based on interviews with witnesses and multiple leads that came in after video surveillance footage of the teens was shared on social media, according to police.

The suspects face second-degree murder charges. Law enforcement did not release the names of the juveniles.

In social media posts on Tuesday night, police attached a video showing the persons of interest and sought the public’s help in identifying them.

“The Bradenton Police Department is currently working a homicide investigation,” the tweet said. “We are trying to identify the individuals in the attached photograph and video.”

Police did not immediately provide any further details on Tuesday, however a resident at Treesdale Apartments recalled a significant police presence as she was driving home around 4:30 p.m.

“I saw it all taped off and they had a tent up so I deduced it was a dead body,” said resident Katie James. “People were lining the streets.”

James said the neighborhood doesn’t have a lot of issues, other than the 2019 homicide where a woman was charged with the killing of a 56-year-old man.

If anyone has information, you are asked to call Detective Patrick Mahoney at 941-300-1045 or email Patrick.Mahoney@bradentonpd.com.

This story was originally published October 7, 2020 at 8:40 AM.