Police in Fort Myers, Florida, said three children, ages 12, 13 and 14, are facing criminal charges for an armed robbery that happened late Friday.
FMPD said the trio stole cash and ran off. The gun used was stolen out of Collier County. Neighbors in the area said they've seen the two younger boys in the area before.
“This is a pretty quiet area,” said one neighbor.
But that wasn't the case Friday when FMPD swarmed the area looking for the three young suspects.
“Police came by and asked if we saw two or three boys running through here masked up," the neighbor said.
Gun deaths among US children are rising rapidly
A study showed that between 2018 and 2021, the firearm death rate rose 41.5% for children.
"I was scared ... I told my kids to come back in the house because it wasn’t safe," another neighbor said.
It took about an hour for officers to locate and arrest the suspects.
“The first thing that went through my mind was a lot of rage. There was a lot of feeling in my heart," said Fort Myers resident Isaiah Crawford after seeing the young faces attached to the crime. “One of the kids looked like he was about 10 years old and now he has a mugshot."
Following FMPD's release of the details of this crime and the three mugshots, many community members have debated online whether their mugshots should have been posted.
There have been several robberies in the area recently, police said. FMPD is working to see if there is any connection.
This story was originally published by Briana Brownlee for Scripps News Fort Myers.
