Boy dies after teens take turns shooting at each other wearing armored vest, police say

Two teens were arrested Thursday after authorities said they took turns shooting at each other while wearing a body armored vest.

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Two teens were arrested Thursday after authorities said they took turns shooting at each other while wearing a body-armored vest.

Police in Florida responded to reports of a shooting on Sunday, April 3, at a home in Belleview. When they arrived, officers said they found 16-year-old Christopher Leroy Broad with a gunshot wound.

Broad was sent to the hospital where he ultimately died as a result of his injuries.

Over the course of several days, detectives discovered that two other boys, Joshua Vining and Colton Whitler, both 17, were taking turns shooting at each other while wearing a vest that contained a form of body armor.

Officers said Vining shot and struck Broad while he was wearing the vest. Whitler was initially interviewed as a witness to the shooting but misled officials with inaccurate information about what took place and who shot Broad, according to a news release issued by the Belleview Police Department.

Vining was arrested Thursday and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child with a firearm. Whitler was also arrested in connection with the shooting for providing false information to law enforcement.