A Florida man fatally shot his adult stepson moments after wrestling a gun away from his nine-year-old brother, who was upset that his mother had stopped him playing video game Fortnite, police reported.
Kelly Agar Garcia, 43, has been charged with second-degree murder and unlawful storage of a firearm, following the incident on Wednesday evening.
Davenport police said that the child had become enraged after his mother stopped him from playing the game and confiscated his cell phone. The boy then retrieved the weapon – a Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun – from her nightstand drawer.
Garcia then wrestled the gun from the child, at which point the boy’s elder brother, Azareel Martinez, entered the room, according to police.
"Kelly Garcia was very much a disciplinarian, and he ruled the household as such,” said Davenport Police Chief Steven Parker. “The 26-year-old didn't particularly care for the way he was disciplining the young children and running the household."
Garcia and Martinez then engaged in a furious argument that ended with the 26-year-old being shot several times in the chest and abdomen, according to police. As Martinez backed out of the bedroom, Garcia followed him and allegedly shot him two more times in the back before he collapsed.
Martinez was taken to hospital where he died from multiple gunshot wounds.
Parker said that police had initially investigated the possibility that the shooting had been in self-defense, but ruled it out – especially since Martinez had been shot in the back.
"We do not believe there's anything to support that Azareel was physically aggressive towards” Garcia, he said.
The sheriff, however, does believe that the tragic situation could have been avoided.
"We have a nine-year-old that knows where stepdad keeps his gun and goes to it," Parker said. "I truly believe that if that child did not know where that gun was, none of this would have happened … none of it."
Besides his nine-year-old brother, Martinez had another sibling, who is 11 years old, police said.
"It's just a tragic situation for somebody that young," said Parker. "So I truly hope, and I truly feel, that as they grow that they'll be able to do things to help overcome this and lead productive lives."
