A 15-year-old boy allegedly gunned down his teenage classmate after the victim bumped him in the hallway of their Florida high school — and officials are now seeking to charge him as an adult, according to authorities.
Jacori Redding, 15, and Pinien Dalmacy, 16, bumped into each other while walking in the hallway of Oak Ridge High School in Sky Lake on Oct. 9, and got into an argument, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said during a press conference.
The two sophomores agreed to fight at a nearby park after school after Redding reportedly refused to apologize to Dalmacy for the accidental bump, Mina said.
Redding allegedly shot Dalmacy twice at the park before fleeing to his high school campus, police said.
Cops caught him and arrested him in the school’s cafeteria, where the gun was found in his bag, authorities added.
Redding was originally arrested on a juvenile custody order for manslaughter with a firearm and possession of a firearm on school property charges, Mina said.
He will now be charged as an adult, WESH reported Wednesday, citing prosecutors.
“My heart aches for Pinien’s family, who are grieving this unimaginable loss,” Mina told reporters.
“And I’m angry that something as small as bumping into someone in the halls of a high school can result in a shooting death,” he said.
Redding had been disciplined at least 17 times for physical altercations at the high school and already faced charges for grand theft auto and resisting an officer without violence, WESH reported.
Investigators also uncovered a text thread where Redding wrote he was going to make someone think they were going to fight, then “pop” the person, the outlet said.
A GoFundMe for Dalmacy described him as “full of light, always smiling, always dancing, and loved by everyone who knew him.”
“My life changed forever when my baby was taken from me after something so small a hallway bump turned into something unthinkable. Losing him this way has left our family completely broken,” Dalmacy’s grieving mother wrote in a statement for the fundraiser.
“Watching his brother and sisters cry for him and reliving that moment every day is unbearable,” she said.
The alleged teen shooter was slated to appear in court next Wednesday for a hearing to decide if he should be held in jail before going to trial.
Redding faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted, WFTV reported.
