17-year-old dies from gunshot after ‘friends’ run instead of helping him, Florida cops say
A 17-year-old was abandoned by his “friends” when he was struck by gunfire and left with a fatal injury, Florida police said.
Sadarion Cosby was with three other people the evening of April 9 when they approached a parked Kia K-5, according to the Sanford Police Department.
Gunfire broke out, striking Cosby in the stomach. Two of the people he was with fled the scene and the car drove off, police said.
One remaining friend helped him get to a nearby home before also fleeing, according to police.
Sanford Police chief Cecil Smith called their actions “unacceptable.”
“A seventeen-year-old lost his life. His ‘friends,’ and I use that term loosely, ran rather than staying and helping him,” he said in the release. “They didn’t help him get the emergency medical attention he needed, nor stay to assist law enforcement identify and locate the person(s) who took his life.”
The residents of the home drove Cosby to a hospital, where he died of his injuries, police said.
Investigators are working to piece together what led to the shooting and to identify a motive. Police are looking for the three people who were with Cosby, as well as the occupants inside the Kia. They released a photo of the dark-colored sedan.
“We’re sitting here today talking about a 17-year-old who lost his life last night,” a Sanford police spokesperson Bianca Gillett said in an update broadcast by WOFL. “And that’s a tragedy in itself, let alone to have people that were clearly close with him not care enough to help us find the person who took his life.”
Those who knew the teen said he always had a smile on his face.
A family member wrote on Facebook that she would miss his “warm smile and all the jokes, stopping by just for a hug.”
His mom said her heart was “weak” after the loss of her 17-year-old son.
“What am I supposed to do from here,” she said on social media. “Sadarion I’m so sorry son I was supposed to protect you.”
Investigators are asking anyone with information on the shooting to contact the Sanford Police Department.
Sanford is about a 25-mile drive northeast of downtown Orlando.
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