Florida Brothers Charged With Shooting Each Other and Killing Sister Over Christmas Gifts

Two brothers from Florida were caught and charged after it was said that one of them killed their sister during a fight over gifts on Christmas Eve. The second brother is then said to have shot the first brother for killing their sister.

Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday that a 14-year-old brother is suspected of shooting and killing his 23-year-old sister Abrielle Baldwin in the chest. In reaction, his 15-year-old brother or sister is said to have shot him.

Police say the 14-year-old is charged with first-degree murder, child abuse, and having a gun while being a juvenile. It is alleged that his 15-year-old brother tried to kill the person and tampered with physical proof.

Pinellas County Sheriff’s officers said they went to a Largo home on December 24 after hearing reports of a shooting and found two people who had been shot.

Officials say that both Abrielle Baldwin and the 14-year-old were shot once. Both were taken to a nearby hospital, where Baldwin was pronounced dead. Sheriff Bob Gualtieri says the 14-year-old is now in stable health.

An early inquiry, according to Gualtieri, stated that Baldwin, the 14-year-old, and the 15-year-old, all siblings, went Christmas shopping with their mother and Baldwin’s two kids, an 11-month-old and a 6-year-old.

According to Gualtieri, the younger brother was envious that his mother was buying more gifts for his elder brother while they were out Christmas shopping, and a “family spat” erupted.

After the fight, the family left the shop and went to their grandmother’s house, where it continued. Baldwin’s sons planned to stay with her grandmother while she went to work.

Then, the 14-year-old is said to have pulled out a gun and pointed it at his older brother, threatening to shoot him in the head and trying to get his brother to fight him. The older brother refused to do either. Gualtieri says that their uncle, who was also in the house, then split the boys up and took the younger brother out into the street.

According to the sheriff, Baldwin then allegedly told the 14-year-old to stop arguing because it was Christmas. This made things worse, and the 14-year-old allegedly said he would shoot her and the baby she was carrying in a baby carrier. Baldwin then allegedly shot the 14-year-old in the chest.

After taking another gun outside the house, the 15-year-old is said to have shot his younger brother in the gut because he had shot their sister. Then he left the scene, threw the gun into a nearby yard, and ran to the house of a family member, Gualtieri said.

Gualtieri said that the gun that the 15-year-old reportedly threw into the nearby yard has been found, but the gun that was used to shoot Baldwin has not yet been found.

After the 15-year-old called his mother, police were able to find him. The 15-year-old was taken to a mental health facility because he made “self-harm statements,” according to the sheriff. Once he is released from the facility, the boy will be turned over to the Pinellas Juvenile Assessment Center.

People the sheriff’s office talked to said that the brothers brought guns with them “all the time,” Gualtieri said.

“This is what happens when you’ve got young delinquents that carry guns – they get upset, they don’t know how to handle stuff so they just take out their guns and start shooting each other and one of them kills his sister,” said Gualtieri.

Both brothers were arrested for “numerous car burglaries” in May 2023, according to Gualtieri. The younger brother has been arrested since he was 12 years old.

“This is the worst thing I’ve ever seen: so many guns on the streets, in this area, and the hands of these kids.” Gualtieri said, “I don’t think we’ve ever seen it this bad.”

“I believe that we need stricter laws to handle these kids.” With their criminal records, it’s clear that they’re not facing the punishments that would keep them from committing the same crimes over and over again.