Three separate shootings that left three teenagers dead in Florida are all connected and may be tied to “wannabe gang” activity, authorities said Tuesday.
Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said authorities are investigating “multiple suspects” following a string of shootings last week.
The first victim, 16-year-old Layla Silvernail, was found Thursday bleeding from a gunshot wound by the side of a road in Marion County, about 60 miles northwest of Orlando. Silvernail was taken to the hospital in critical condition but has since died, Woods said at a news conference Tuesday.
On Friday morning, authorities said a 17-year-old boy was discovered lying beside a road with a fatal gunshot wound a few miles away from where Silvernail was found.
The third victim, another 16-year-old girl, was found dead Saturday inside of Silvernail’s vehicle, which was partially submerged at the edge of a nearby body of water, authorities said. She also had a fatal gunshot wound.
In a video address posted Monday, Woods said a serial killer is not involved in the crimes, debunking what he said was a widely circulated rumor on social media.
“That is far from the truth,” he said. “We are devastated for the families of these three teens, and we are dedicated to bringing whoever is responsible for these heinous acts to justice.”
On Tuesday, Woods said the three victims were friends and were together leading up to their deaths. The sheriff said the murders were possibly tied to “wannabe gang” activity.
Detectives received a “number of investigative tips and information that rules out the possibility that this is a serial killer,” Zach Moore, a spokesperson with the sheriff’s office, told NBC News.
“Due to the nature of this investigation, we are not at liberty to go into detail about how they are linked,” Moore said.
Woods said there was no evidence of a fourth victim and urged community members to come forward with information as his detectives are “diligently following up on every potential lead.”
“We’re gonna get ‘em,” the sheriff said.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
