A late-night stickup outside a Port St. Lucie McDonald's ended with the would-be robber shooting himself in the leg, according to police. Officers say a 16-year-old who tried to steal an electric bike from another juvenile wound up wounded and in cuffs instead.
Police were called to the fast-food spot around 9 p.m., where they found the teen bleeding from two gunshot wounds to his leg. Medics rushed him to a nearby hospital with injuries described as non-life-threatening. Detectives later said the teen had confronted another juvenile and demanded the e-bike before the gun went off.
Police say the shooting was self-inflicted
Port St. Lucie officers responded to reports of gunfire at the McDonald's near 3199 SW Port St. Lucie Boulevard at about 9 p.m. on April 13, according to WQCS. Authorities identified the teen as 16-year-old Jayden Williams and said he was taken to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center for treatment, where doctors confirmed the wounds were not life-threatening.
Police initially weighed the possibility that Williams was simply a victim of gunfire. That changed after investigators processed the scene and spoke with witnesses, ultimately concluding that the shots came from the teen's own gun.
Arrests, evidence and charges
Crime scene technicians recovered a handgun and several magazines in the McDonald's parking lot and seized cell phones from everyone involved while they pieced together what happened, according to Tampa Free Press. By the end of the night, three juveniles were under arrest and on their way to the Department of Juvenile Justice.
The 16-year-old now faces charges that include robbery with a firearm, possession of a weapon by a minor and violation of probation. Two other teens were booked on robbery and tampering with evidence counts as detectives continue to sort out each person's role.
Bodycam footage and the ongoing probe
Investigators say officers' bodycam video helped clear up the confusion. The footage shows police finding the teen with two gunshot wounds and triggered a closer look at how the shooting unfolded, as reported by WPBF.
Initial reports that cast the injured teen as a straightforward victim were revised after detectives reviewed the video, collected phone evidence and re-interviewed witnesses. Port St. Lucie Police say the criminal investigation is still active.
Local context: e-bikes and enforcement
The botched robbery comes as Port St. Lucie police step up enforcement around electric bikes and dirt-bike activity. Just days earlier, officers arrested a 13-year-old who they say fled from police on an electric dirt bike, a case that underscored mounting concerns about young riders and public-safety calls linked to them, according to WQCS.
Officials say they are using surveillance footage, bodycam clips and phone data to nail down whether others were involved in the attempted e-bike robbery and to hold accountable anyone who handled a firearm or tried to tamper with evidence.
What happens next
All three juveniles were processed into the Department of Juvenile Justice and face potential charges in juvenile court, according to Tampa Free Press. Juvenile cases often come with stricter privacy rules than adult prosecutions, so what becomes public from here may be limited.
Police are asking anyone with video or additional information about the incident to contact the Port St. Lucie Police Department's Criminal Investigations Division as they continue to reconstruct the timeline shot by shot.
