1 dead after shots fired into crowd of children, Sarasota police say. Bradenton teen arrested.
Update 2/10/22: Police arrested the Bradenton 16-year-old wanted in the shooting after he turned himself in to Sarasota police Wednesday night. He now faces charges of homicide and attempted homicide, and the state attorney’s office will decide if he will be prosecuted as an adult.
Police are searching for a Bradenton teen in connection to a shooting that left a 17-year-old dead and two other children injured, Sarasota police said Wednesday morning.
Officers were called to the 2200 block of Palmadelia Avenue at 4:22 p.m. Sunday to reports of gunshots, according to a probable cause affidavit. Police arrived and found three victims.
A 17-year-old boy was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, where he later died.
Also injured were a 16-year-old boy, who was shot in the hand, and a 9-year-old girl, who was shot in the shoulder. They were also taken to Sarasota Memorial.
Six more children — ages 7, 10, 17, 13, 11 and 13 — were in the line of gunfire but were uninjured. An argument between two of the victims was the motive for the shooting, the victims told police.
Witnesses told police that they were walking down Palmadelia when they saw the two shooters pull up in a gold-colored sedan to the intersection of 22nd Street. Shots were fired at the group of children from an automatic rifle from the rear driver-side door and a handgun from the driver’s seat.
“The victims ran in fear for their life seeking cover from many projectile rounds of gunfire that was intentionally fired at their direction,” the police report says.
Sha’Miya Williams, 16, of Tampa, has since been identified as one of the shooters and was arrested Monday by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. She is facing homicide and attempted homicide charges.
Detectives have identified Thamar Liafortune, 16, of Bradenton, as the second suspect. He is wanted on murder and attempted homicide charges.
Police said a picture of the sedan was shown to someone that confirmed it was the same car Thamar and Sha’Miya “left driving earlier when they took firearms” from a Bradenton home.
Anyone with any information about this case is asked to call the Sarasota Police Department Criminal Investigations Division at 941-263-6070. To remain anonymous tips can be sent to with Crime Stoppers by calling 941-366-8477 (TIPS) or online at sarasotacrimestoppers.com.
This story was originally published February 9, 2022 at 10:48 AM.
