A teenage boy from Florida who was initially arrested on charges of attempted murder in the alleged shooting of another teenager on Wednesday had his charge upgraded to murder after the victim died from his injuries.
Police said in a press release on Friday that 16-year-old Connor Michael Lewis of Sanford will have his charge of attempted murder upgraded to second-degree homicide and shooting into a dwelling.
Lewis has been accused of shooting 18-year-old Artavious Quarterman in the head through the window of his front door on Wednesday following a dispute with his girlfriend, who left the home.
The suspected murderer called 911 just after 8:00 p.m. that day to report about several people who came to pick up his girlfriend and started banging on his door and window, police said.
The dispatcher could hear during the call with Lewis that he responded to the people on his property that were repeatedly shouting his name to open the door. Lewis reportedly responded to them in a taunting manner saying, “oh, you’re so scary. You’re so scary,” shortly before he allegedly fired a single gunshot, striking Quarterman in his head.
Lewis told the dispatcher he had a conflict with his girlfriend that day and the family of his girlfriend came to his house to pick her up, as well as her belongings. Once the family arrived, they allegedly started knocking on his door and window repeatedly, shouting his name.
Quarterman also joined the family of Lewis’s girlfriend to the home to help them to retrieve the girl’s possessions. The relation between the shooting victim, the girl, and the family is not clear.
“The family and friends of Lewis’s girlfriend were knocking on the doors and windows of the house in an attempt to retrieve the remainder of the girlfriend’s possessions that were inside the home,” the Sanford Police Department wrote in the release.
“In the course of this interaction, one round from a gun was fired from the inside of the home, through the window on the front door, striking Artavious Quarterman in the head,” the statement continued.
Quarterman was rushed to a nearby hospital in a life-threatening condition. He died on Thursday from his injuries, police said.
“Sanford Police officers were minutes away from the home, and I believe would have been able to separate and de-escalate the situation in a matter of moments,” Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith stated. “When you shoot a firearm, you must understand that the consequences of that can be deadly in any situation.”
