Teen killed an 11-year-old during argument over vape pen, St. Pete police say

14-year-old accused of killing 11-year-old

Gavin Santos-Brown is accused of killing 11-year-old Veondre Hargrove during an argument over a vape pen, St. Petersburg police say.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Two boys in St. Pete should be starting the school year. Instead, one is facing a manslaughter charge and the other’s family is planning a funeral. St. Petersburg police said an argument over a vape pen led to 11-year-old Veondre Hargrove’s death last Thursday.

Fourteen-year-old Gavin Santos-Brown turned himself into police on Sunday. He’s charged as an adult with voluntary manslaughter.

"This is something very tragic all around," SPPD Public Information Specialist, Ashley Limardo, said.

Courtesy: St. Petersburg Police Department

Police said Hargrove and Santos-Brown were at a friend’s house on 11th Avenue South, near Child’s Park, around 9:45 p.m. Thursday. According to the arrest report, Hargrove and Santos-Brown were sitting on the couch when Santos-Brown pulled out a gun. The report said the mutual friend overheard the victim and the suspect talking about a vape pen "that was stolen from the suspect by the victim, unknowingly."

"He [the mutual friend] said somewhere along the lines, you know, ‘we're not allowed to have guns here. I need you to put it away,’ and he turned around when suddenly he heard the shot go off," Limardo said. "The next thing he knew, Hargrove was shot and killed and then Gavin fled on foot."

A handgun was left at the scene, the report said. Detectives are still working to learn where the gun came from, but Limardo said it’s another tragic reminder to lock up your weapons.

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"What we see commonly happen is that a lot of our juveniles obtain these weapons through opening a door in a car and finding them. Sometimes their parents own them and they have access to them. It's important that if you are a gun owner, that you have it locked up and put it somewhere where it's not easily accessible to children, your own children, or even leaving them in your car, in an unlocked car, because that is a trend that I do still see happening where people are checking the doors, the door is unlocked and they come across a weapon," Limardo said.

According to the arrest report, Santos-Brown is a student at Azalea Middle School.

"We understand that usually a lot of criminal activities with juveniles are typically associated with boredom or having too much time on their hands," Limardo said.

"We have the Youth Care Program that's available to them that will give them access to sports. If they're having any needs for any other situation, that’s also available. We just want to make sure that our residents and our parents know that we are here to help them as much as possible. Our goal is not to arrest as many children as we can. We want them to live their life and become something that they can be, and it’s if we all work together," Limardo said.

The investigation is still ongoing.

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