Miami-Dade County

Alleged gunman, 15, charged as adult in fatal Florida City double shooting

Tobias Childress, 15, is facing charges including murder, armed robbery, attempted felony murder, possession of a weapon by a delinquent, and possession of a firearm by a minor, records showed

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A 15-year-old is being charged as an adult in connection with a double shooting in Florida City last month that left one person dead.

Tobias Childress, 15, is facing charges including murder, armed robbery, attempted felony murder, possession of a weapon by a delinquent, and possession of a firearm by a minor, records showed.

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Tobias Childress
Miami-Dade Corrections
Miami-Dade Corrections
Tobias Childress

Childress was initially arrested on April 23 but he's now being charged as an adult and was moved to the adult jail on Wednesday, records showed.

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The shooting happened back on April 18 near Southwest 6th Avenue and Southwest 7th Terrace in Florida City.

One victim was found with multiple gunshot wounds in the front passenger seat of a 2009 Buick Enclave and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the Buick was found with a gunshot wound to his back and was taken to Jackson South Medical Center in critical condition.

According to an arrest report, surveillance footage showed multiple shooters opening fire on the victims' vehicle before fleeing the scene on foot.

Childress was identified as a person of interest and then identified by the surviving victim as one of the shooters, the report said.

The victim told investigators that an acquaintance of his had invited him there to exchange marijuana in preparation for 4/20, the report said.

When Childress was taken into custody, authorities recovered a firearm with a 24-round capacity magazine, along with 21 live rounds of ammunition, the report said.

The firearm matched one displayed by Childress in social media videos from April 20 and 21, just days after the double shooting, the report said.

Childress is a documented gang member, and in January of 2024, when he was 14, he was "adjudicated delinquent" related to a Miami-Dade case of grand theft of a motor vehicle and burglary, the report said.

Childress appeared before a judge on Thursday, where he was appointed a public defender and ordered held without bond.

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