A possible hate crime has a 12-year-old Orlando boy behind bars, charged with attempted murder after targeting a transgender woman in a shooting rampage.
It happened late Thursday night on Orange Blossom Trail and Church Street.
The 26-year-old victim said the boy shot at her multiple times while yelling profanities and chasing her from Church Street to South Rio Grande Avenue. Fortunately, she was not struck by any of the bullets and was able to call 911.
“I was walking along Church Street, going towards a friend's house, when I was approached by a 12-year-old saying he was going to kill me," said Shandebine Sherrington, 26. "I don’t know who this individual was and he started shooting at me, chasing me multiple places to shoot at me.”
Sherrington, whose given name is Andrew West, said she felt targeted by the young shooter.
“I ran around OBT to get back on Church Street, to run down Church Street and running down Rio Grande and everything," Sherrington said.
She said Thursday night she was dressed as a woman. It was right before midnight when the 12-year-old suspect, who we are not identifying according to our News 13 crime guidelines, was screaming at her as he fired his handgun.
“He was just saying foul words," Sherrington said. “Thankfully I had witnesses that were out there and saw this young man shooting and chasing me down the street.”
It was near the Citrus Bowl when she said she heard that the boy’s gun was out of bullets, so she turned around and started chasing him.
“As I chased him I was on the phone with the police," West said.
Within minutes police arrived. They found the gun that the boy threw in a nearby field. Police say the Ruger was listed as stolen. The 12-year-old was arrested and charged with attempted murder and grand theft of a firearm.
We spoke to the 12-year-old’s grandmother. She said her grandson snuck out of the house Thursday night through a window.
She said he has been taking medications since 2009 and was on probation for trying to steal a pellet gun earlier this summer.