*A 23-year-old Florida woman was fatally shot by her teenage brother on Christmas Eve after an argument about presents.
After Damarcus Coley, 14, killed his sister Abrielle Baldwin, the teenager was immediately shot and injured by his older sibling, 15-year-old Darcus Coley. According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, both males face multiple charges.
Baldwin and her two brothers went shopping for gifts on Christmas Eve with their mother and Abrielle’s 11-month-old and six-year-old sons. When they arrived at their grandmother’s home, Damarcus, Darcus, and Abrielle got into a verbal altercation over Christmas gifts, according to a press release.
“After Abrielle told Damarcus to stop arguing because it was Christmas, Damarcus told Abrielle he was going to shoot her and the 11-month-old she was holding in a baby carrier. Damarcus shot Abrielle in the chest while Abrielle was holding the child in the carrier,” the release continues. The baby was not injured, according to reports.
“Shortly thereafter, Darcus exited the residence with another firearm and shot Damarcus because Damarcus shot Abrielle. Darcus then fled the scene, tossing his firearm into a nearby yard,” per the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
14 and 15 year old teenagers Damarcus and Darcus Coley get into a gun fight over Christmas gifts and accidentally kill their sister Abrielle Baldwin https://t.co/UQKrs1jtJi pic.twitter.com/GCoKLMaglQ
— Lipstick Alley (@lipstickalley) December 27, 2023
Darcus was ultimately located “and taken to a mental health facility due to self-harm statements and will be transferred to the custody of the Pinellas Juvenile Assessment Center once he is released,” according to police. He is charged with attempted first-degree degree murder and tampering with physical evidence.
Damarcus is charged with first-degree murder, child abuse, and delinquent in possession of a firearm.
As Too Fab reports, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said in a press conference Tuesday that the “family spat about who was getting what and what money was being spent on who, and they were having this big thing going on in this store.”
Gualtieri said witnesses told investigators that the two brothers often carried firearms, stating, “..this is what happens when you got young delinquents that carry guns, they get upset, they don’t know how to handle stuff, so they just take out their guns and start shooting each other and one of them kills his sister.”
Watch the news report about the tragedy below.
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