Teen shot dead in Bradenton in early morning hours of Thanksgiving
Detectives still have not identified a suspect in a shooting in the early morning hours of Thanksgiving in Bradenton that left a 15-year-old Bradenton boy dead.
At 12:13 p.m. Thursday, a Manatee County Sheriff’s deputy was patrolling in East Bradenton when he heard gunshots, the sheriff’s office said. The deputy pulled up to the 1800 block of 28th Avenue East and found evidence that a shooting had taken place but did not find the victim.
Shortly after, deputies learned that a 15-year-old boy with a gunshot wound had just been dropped at Manatee Memorial Hospital.
The teen — who the sheriff’s office has not named, citing Florida’s Marsy’s Law — died at the hospital.
Detectives with the Manatee Homicide Investigative Unit have not identified a suspect or made any arrests in connection to the shooting but are working on several leads.
One witness told the first deputy at the scene that they saw a man running away after the shots were fired.
Several of the victim’s friends, who dropped him off at Manatee Memorial, did not stick around to talk to law enforcement, sheriff’s office spokesman Randy Warren said.
On Friday, children laughed and smiled as they rode small three-wheelers up and down the dead-end street. Parents watched nearby as they were gathered in the front yard.
Early Thursday, however, gunshots ripped Mauricio and Refugio Corona from their sleep. She immediately knew they were gunshots but he initially dismissed that, saying it was fireworks, the couple explained in Spanish.
Soon after, though, they heard sirens and saw the crime scene that unfolded steps from their home. It was not until detectives later knocked on their door that they know about the boy that died.
The teen did not live on their block — which they described as generally quiet and filled with children playing, as they were Friday.
Anyone with any information on this case is asked to call the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office at 941-747-3011 or to remain anonymous Crime Stoppers at 866-634-8477 (TIPS).
This story was originally published November 24, 2022 at 11:59 AM.
