Rowlett Park Shooting Suspect Arrested

TAMPA, FL — A 17-year-old suspect is being charged with discharging a firearm in public after shooting a gun at Rowlett Park on Sunday, police said Monday.

Police officers were patrolling the park as people gathered for a large party, according to the report, when gunshots rang out. Two of the officers said they saw a teen hiding behind a tree while firing the weapon.

Despite the party and numerous families attending the park at the time, no one was reported wounded from the gunfire.

Police say the teenager attempted to escape the park on a bike while evading arrest and tossed the gun on the ground. Officers soon caught up to the suspect, and a passerby returned the gun to police, the report says.

The suspect will be charged with discharging a firearm in public, being a minor in possession of a firearm, resisting arrest without violence and violation of probation for unlawful possession of a firearm.

The teenager was not publicly identified, and police did not provide any motive for the suspect's action.

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