Date of publication: 13 Apr 2022 • 1 hour ago • 2 minutes reading • 38 comments Joshua Vining and Colton Whitler Photo by Belleview Police Department
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It’s not a typical way to spend a relaxing Sunday for some boys in Belleview, Fla. their afternoon hobby became deadly.
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Police in Belleview, about 110 miles north of Orlando, received a call for gunfire late in the afternoon of April 3. When police arrived at a home, they found Christopher Broad Jr., who had been shot. He was rushed to hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. Four days later, Brod’s friend Joshua Winning was arrested for the negligent homicide of a child with a firearm, and another friend, Colton Whitler, was arrested for providing false information to police. Both boys are 17 years old. During the investigation, police found evidence that Vinning shot and killed Brod, 16, as the two shot at each other wearing a vest containing a form of armor.
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According to Click Orlando, 18-year-old Evan Vowell recorded the shooting on his cell phone and overturned the video to be used as evidence. Police said Vowell told police Vining first showed Broad, Whitler and another minor a 9mm gun and a vest, asking if “they had ever seen anyone shoot with a bulletproof vest.” In the video, the website says, Brod appears to have fired a single shot at Winning – who was wearing a vest – as Whitler stood nearby. Broad and Vining swapped places and Vining shot Broad in the vest once, Broad nodded and Vining then shot Broad four more times, police said. Whitler, who was initially interviewed as a witness to the shooting, lied about what happened and who shot Brod.
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The medical examiner’s office said the cause of Brod’s death was a gunshot wound to the chest and the manner of death was referred to as homicide, according to an affidavit, CNN reported. The affidavit also says that when police arrived, they found Vining doing CPR on Broad. Whitler initially told reporters that “my house was just shot, my friend was shot in the chest,” saying he did not know how many suspects were involved. In an interview with police, however, Whitler claimed that Broad had been shot by Vowell. No evidence was found that the house was shot at, police said. Vining and Whitler are both charged as adults.
