ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – The fatal shooting of a 14-year-old boy on Saturday was not a random act, officials from the Orange County Sheriff's Office said Monday.
Deputies said they were called to an area near the intersection of JR Street and Starbright Drive shortly before 6 p.m. and found Antony Lorenzo Reid suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Neighbors told News 6 that Reid, who lived in the neighborhood, was bleeding from the neck. Witnesses said they used a towel to try to stop the bleeding until first responders arrived.
Authorities have not identified any suspects or a motive.
Loved ones described Reid as a good, smart boy who went to school and didn't cause trouble.
Joel Dixon's son played basketball with Reid. He said the teen's life had really just began.
"We just have to come together and stop the violence that’s going on now," Dixon said. "It’s just a sad thing. The kid had just started living."
On Monday, grief counselors were at Memorial Middle School to help students and staff members cope with the loss of a classmate.
"Last night, I was made aware that one of our students passed away yesterday. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family as they go through this extremely difficult times," Principal Tamara Baker Drayton said in a message to the campus community.
Saturday's incident marks the second time this academic year that an Orange County student was fatally shot.
In December, 15-year-old Boone High School student Alejando Vargas Martinez was gunned down while walking to school. No arrests have been made in the case.
Anyone with information about either shooting is asked to call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS (8477).