4 Arrested After 7-Year-Old Fla. Boy Killed in Alleged Gang-Related Drive-By Shooting

Authorities in Florida have made four arrests in connection with the death of a 7-year-old boy who was killed in a January drive-by shooting.

Zharod Sykes, 24, Keith Johnson 21, Dannel Larkins, 20 and Keith Fields, 18, all face charges of second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and attempted first-degree murder, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters announced at a press conference on Wednesday, March 12.

The charges are related to the Jan. 24 shooting that claimed the life of 7-year-old Breon Allen Jr. and seriously injured 21-year-old Lafayette Mango. It’s unclear if the suspects have entered pleas or retained attorneys to speak on their behalf.

According to a press release shared at the time, the JSO said the two were walking out of a Jacksonville, Fla., home around 5 p.m. that day when shots were fired from a group inside a dark-colored car believed to be a Kia Soul. Breon was later pronounced dead at a local hospital while Mango survived.

“This murder was a culmination of escalating violence between two rival street gangs,” Waters told reporters. “It was a targeted, planned act” he said, adding that, “one of the murderers clearly saw Breon walking innocently with the intended target, Lafayette Mango.”

The boy’s mother has since spoken out about how grateful her family is to authorities for the swift arrests.

"I'm surprised they came to a conclusion very early in the case because a lot of people don't get this kind of justice in a case," Casheena Love said, per First Coast News. "I'm very thankful and humbled."

Love also said she hopes to turn her son’s tragic death into something positive.

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“Say his name every day, post him every day, talk about it every day,” Love said, per WJXT. “Just keep his name alive and just, you know, be expecting things, to see things in his name, because I’m definitely going to turn this into a positive situation.”

Waters said at the press conference that more arrests are expected as investigators claim there are “other individuals who planned and participated in this heinous act.”

“We know who they are and our detectives are building strong evidentiary cases against those perpetrators," the sheriff said.

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