RIVIERA BEACH — Riviera Beach police arrested a boy Friday they believe fatally shot an 18-year-old Lake Worth Beach man who recently graduated from high school near the top of his class and whom his family said had dreams of being a firefighter.
City police are charging the juvenile, whom officers are not naming, with second-degree murder in the killing of Elias Timothy Morrero, the Riviera Beach Police Department said Saturday in a news release. He is also being charged with being a minor possessing a firearm and using a firearm for a felony.
The alleged killer was booked Friday, June 20, police said, and is now being held in the Juvenile Assessment Center.
City police responded Thursday, June 19, to a report of a shooting in the 2800 block of Avenue S. There they found Morrero, who had stopped his car near 28th Street and Avenue S and exited the vehicle clutching his neck from a gunshot injury. Paramedics took Morrero to St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, where he died.
Morrero’s family has set up an online fundraiser on GoFundMe for his funeral, titled “Forever 18: Remembering Elias Our Brightest Light.” His family is hoping to raise $20,000. They were more than halfway to that total Saturday afternoon thanks to nearly 200 donors.
Morrero had graduated from high school in May with honors, the fundraiser web page says. He was also captain of his Fire Academy class, the training program required in Florida for aspiring firefighters. And he was a big brother to five younger siblings — Elianna, Elissia, Everly, Elijah and Ezariah, the family said.
Funeral arrangements will be announced by Tillman Funeral Home & Crematory.
This story has been updated to add video.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Teen charged with murder in Riviera shooting of man, 18
Reporting by Chris Persaud, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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