Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
A 14 year old was killed in a shootout with a 43 year old man, Virgis Canteen, who said he was defending himself. The 14 year old, identified as Davion Smith was a convicted felon, having been convicted for charges of armed robbery, burglary and battery. He was also a confirmed gang member.
According to The Orlando Sentinel the incident occurred in courtyard of an apartment complex; At 7:49 p.m., Smith and two unidentified companions began taunting Canteen in the courtyard outside his Oregon Avenue apartment before the teen drew an handgun, a witness told police.
Canteen also had a handgun and, according to Canteen, the teen began shooting at him first, striking him several times in the "upper extremities," police spokesman Sgt. Gary Gross said in a report.
Canteen said he returned fire, striking the teen "numerous times."
This was not the 5-feet 8-inch tall, 130-pound teen's first brush with violence. State records state he was a convicted felon arrested twice since age 12 for armed robbery with a gun, once for battery on a public or school employee and once for burglarizing a home.
Gross identified Smith as a documented gang member.
"This exchange of gunfire occurred in the courtyard in-between the duplex apartments at 516 and 504 Oregon Avenue,'' Gross wrote in a report.
In a telephone interview, Gross said the gang was one of several in the Polk County city with young members who are not aligned to any of the Florida's statewide street gangs.
He declined to identify the gang.