FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A 17-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a fatal New Year’s Eve shooting on Fort Lauderdale Beach, according to Fort Lauderdale Police.
Police said officers, working with the U.S. Marshals Service, located the teen on Saturday and took him into custody. Authorities are not releasing the suspect’s name because he is a minor, and the charges have not yet been disclosed.
The shooting happened around 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 31 near 17 South Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard. Officers responding to reports of gunfire found a juvenile male victim suffering from a gunshot wound. Police rendered first aid before the teen was rushed to Broward General Medical Center, where he later died.
The victim was identified by his father as 17-year-old Joshua Gipson Jr., a local high school student and football player.
“They say he was probably hit by an innocent bystander. Some people were arguing or shooting, and he was trying to help somebody, and he got shot,” said Joshua Gipson Sr. “He was a beautiful kid.”
Cellphone video from the scene captured the sound of multiple gunshots as people ran for safety. Witnesses described moments of panic and fear along the crowded beach.
Friends remembered Gipson as a joyful and talented athlete. “He was funny, fun to be around, a happy soul — a good person and a good football player,” one friend said.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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