15-Year-Old Girl Fatally Shot in Street While Walking with Friends, Suspect Arrested

Emily Palmer
·3 min read

Kayla Rincon-Miller, 15, had just left a movie theater with friends when a group of people pulled up in a silver Nissan Pathfinder and she was fatally shot

<p>GoFundMe</p> Kayla Rincon-Miller

GoFundMe

Kayla Rincon-Miller

The glare of the SUV’s headlights temporarily blinded the three teenagers.

The friends were heading from a movie theater to a McDonalds in Cape Coral, Fla., around 9:30 p.m. March 17, when a silver Nissan Pathfinder pulled up alongside them, and at least one person jumped from the vehicle and tried to rob them, according to a set of press releases from the Cape Coral Police Department.

One of the girls later told police, that a single shooter began firing, fatally striking Kayla Rincon-Miller, 15, in the chest.

The other two girls were unharmed, per Fort Myers News Press.

<p>Ricardo Rolon / USA Today Network</p> Cape Coral residents made the crime scene into a memorial site, following the Sunday shooting.

Ricardo Rolon / USA Today Network

Cape Coral residents made the crime scene into a memorial site, following the Sunday shooting.

The shooter fled in the vehicle, according to police.

Before she died, Rincon-Miller – who was treated at a local hospital before succumbing to her injuries – told police she did not know the identity of the shooter, who had fled in the vehicle. The other two girls told police the same thing.

A 16-year-old male was arrested Tuesday night and charged as a principal to a murder while engaged in robbery, Lisa Greenberg said at a press conference March 20. (PEOPLE is not revealing his identity because he's a minor.)

“Based on our evidence, we believe this was not a random act of violence, Greenberg said.

<p>Ricardo Rolon / USA Today Network</p> Lisa Greenberg, of the Cape Coral Police Department, at a press conference March 20.

Ricardo Rolon / USA Today Network

Lisa Greenberg, of the Cape Coral Police Department, at a press conference March 20.

“We do know there are others involved in this homicide,” she added. “There is still more work to be done. Our detectives’ diligent work around the clock continues today to continue to narrow this investigation.”

The silver Nissan Pathfinder that pulled up alongside Rincon-Miller and her friends had been rented by the suspect's mother, according to Greenberg, who did not reveal many details of the investigation at the press conference.

Another spokesperson for the police department, Mercedes Phillips, told PEOPLE Thursday that she could not provide any additional details of the ongoing investigation at this time.

<p>Ricardo Rolon / USA Today Network</p> A Lee County Sheriff K-9 deputy surveys the crime scene, March 18.

Ricardo Rolon / USA Today Network

A Lee County Sheriff K-9 deputy surveys the crime scene, March 18.

The suspect was booked at Lee County Jail at 1:09 a.m. Wednesday and released less than two hours later, according to the sheriff’s office’s online booking records.

The 16-year-old is set for a juvenile court case hearing April 8 at 9:00 a.m., per the sheriff’s office records. His bond has not been set. It's not clear if he has retained an attorney or entered a plea.

Sophia Rickets described Rincon-Miller as “a vibrant 15-year-old girl” who “brought joy and light into the lives of her parents” and who had been enjoying her spring break with friends when she was fatally shot, per a GoFundMe page set up to cover the costs of medical and funeral expenses.

“Her passing has left our family devastated, mourning the loss of this beautiful soul,” Rickets wrote.

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