A Florida police chief blasted the "friends" of a teenager who died from a gunshot wound after he said they ran from the scene of the shooting without offering help to the victim or law enforcement.
Sadarion Cosby, 17, died at HCA Florida Lake Monroe Hospital on Tuesday night after he was shot in the abdomen during an altercation in the city of Sanford, a suburb of Orlando.
Cosby was struck after shots rang out when he and three unidentified people approached a parked car near the intersection of Ellen Place and Scott Drive at around 8 p.m. on Tuesday, according to Sanford police. It's unclear who was inside the vehicle.
The vehicle and two of the three people with Cosby "immediately" fled the area after gunfire erupted, Sanford police said.
Police said one of the people with Cosby helped him get to a nearby house before running off. Cosby was then driven to the hospital, where he died not long after arrival, by the occupants of the home.
On Wednesday, Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith described the incident that resulted in Cosby's death as "unacceptable."
"A seventeen-year-old lost his life. His ‘friends’, and I use that term loosely, ran rather than staying and helping him," Smith said in a news release. "They didn’t help him get the emergency medical attention he needed, nor stay to assist law enforcement identify and locate the person(s) who took his life. Unacceptable."
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Sanford police said on Wednesday the vehicle Cosby and his friends approached the night before appeared to be a dark-colored – possibly black or blue – Kia K-5 sedan.
Authorities are working to locate that car and whoever was inside it when Cosby was shot.
Sanford police are also looking for the three people who were with Cosby. When talking to the local media on Wednesday, Bianca Gillett, a spokesperson for the police department, was hesitant to describe them as friends because of how the situation played out.
"They chose to run and worry about themselves instead of assisting him and getting immediate medical attention, and then sticking around and assisting us with the investigation," Gillett said. "…to have people that were clearly close with him not care enough to help us find the person who took his life last night. It's challenging and it's heartbreaking at the same time."
Though many details on what transpired Tuesday night were not available, Gillett did say that investigators are working through surveillance footage submitted by people in the area.
Anyone with information on the shooting, the car or the people involved can call the Sanford Police Department or Crimeline at 800-423-8477. Tips can be called in to Crimeline anonymously and could be eligible for a cash reward of up to $5,000 if the information solves the case.
