Details released in shooting of FSU football player Ethan Pritchard
Florida State University freshman linebacker Ethan Pritchard was the unintended victim in a shooting last month near the Havana Heights Apartments.
At a press conference in Tallahassee, authorities announced four arrests in connection to the shooting. They emphasized that Pritchard was not the intended target.
“This was a perfect storm of the victims being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” one investigator said.
The Suspects
Authorities identified the suspects as:
What Happened That Night
According to investigators, Pritchard was attending a family cookout in Havana. He was driving his aunt and 3-year-old cousin home when their vehicle was ambushed.
“Ethan was not — I say, not — doing anything wrong in that area,” said Gadsden County Sheriff Morris Young.
On Friday, 9 Investigates obtained the arrest affidavit for Caron Miller, which details the moments leading up to the shooting.
The Shooting
Documents reveal that when Gadsden County deputies arrived, they found Pritchard shot in the head
On Friday, WFTV obtained Miller’s arrest affidavit, which lays out the moments leading up to the shooting.
The Sanford native is still in the hospital.
The court records went say that immediately after being shot, Pritchard “placed his vehicle into reverse and began driving backwards.” As a result, he then veered into a nearby yard, drove through the property, and collided with a wooden shed.
“Most of the windshield was missing and several bullet holes could be seen across the vehicle,” the affidavit says. The investigation revealed that “there was possibly a total of four firearms used in this shooting.”
Law enforcement found multiple empty casings scattered around the area of the shooting, records show, including in the entrance of the Riverside Apartments nearby.
A few days later, authorities were able to obtain surveillance footage from the Riverside Apartments, which showed what unfolded moments before the shooting occurred.
In the footage, a male “in a gray hoodie, black pants, white shoes and a white ski mask” had been standing at the entrance of the apartment complex “acting as a lookout,” according to court papers. “A large rifle magazine could be seen sticking out of his pants/shirt area,” the affidavit wrote.
Moments later, another male, who “appears to be holding his pants as if there is a heavy object or firearm in his waistband,” was observed walking up to the complex entrance.
A witness told investigators he saw the dodge charger that night, but knew it was the wrong one.
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