SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. (TCD) — A 16-year-old is accused of a premeditated attack on a 15-year-old after he allegedly walked several miles to the victim’s house, forced his way inside, fatally stabbed the teen, and injured a 48-year-old man.
According to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, on Saturday, June 1, at 10:11 p.m., deputies responded to a stabbing call at a home on County Road 148 and found the two victims injured. They were airlifted to nearby hospitals, where 15-year-old Connor Michael Gill was pronounced deceased at 1:19 a.m. Undersheriff Pat Breeden said the adult is in stable condition, but is still in the ICU.
The sheriff’s office alleges the suspect, Alexander Hernandez, went to Gill’s house “unannounced” while Gill was having a sleepover and “banged” on the door. Gill opened the door, and Hernandez attacked him before threatening someone else. Hernandez reportedly stabbed the adult when he came to check on what was happening.
Gill and Hernandez knew each other prior to the attack. The sheriff’s office said both teens were no longer enrolled at Sumter County schools and instead had been homeschooled.
Hernandez reportedly fled the scene on foot following the stabbing, but a Sumter County Sheriff’s Office helicopter located him. According to Breeden, Hernandez still had the weapons on him upon his arrest. He was taken to the Sumter County Jail and booked on charges of premeditated first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, and armed burglary.
Breeden said Hernandez allegedly ordered the scythe and pocket knife online on Thursday, and they arrived Saturday. He “unpacked the weapons, played with them for a little bit, and then walked nearly 6 miles to the victim’s residence.”
Breeden called the stabbing a “violent and premeditated attack.”
Hernandez could face additional charges as the investigation continues.
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