Sheriff: Florida teen kills 1 brother, wounds another

HUDSON, Fla. (AP) – A 12-year-old boy was cooking with his older brother when an argument erupted, and the boy shot his 6-year-old brother to death, wounded his older brother in the leg and killed himself, a sheriff said Thursday.

Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco previously said the argument Wednesday night was over food, but at a news conference Thursday he wouldn’t talk about it, saying only that the older boys were preparing food and deputies were still investigating.

The boys were identified as 12-year-old Kevin Pimentel, 6-year-old Brady Pimentel and 16-year-old Trevor Pimentel. They were home alone at the Sugar Lane Mobile Home Park north of Tampa while their mother was at work, Nocco said.

The sheriff refused to release many details about the crime, including the motive and where the boy got the gun, because he said deputies haven’t told the mother yet.

“The mother is going through a living hell right now,” Nocco said. “She doesn’t yet know all the details. She can’t handle that right now. She emotionally and physically can’t handle that right now.”

Trevor Pimentel called 911 at 6:19 p.m. Wednesday. When a deputy arrived, he was screaming “I’ve been shot, I’ve been shot” from inside the mobile home, the sheriff said.

Authorities said they have found no evidence that child welfare officials or police had ever been called to the home before the shooting.

The mother, Helen Campochinera, was a hard-working woman who had two jobs so that she could take care of her boys, the sheriff said. Campochinera had been in a car wreck recently, but didn’t even go to the hospital because she had to work, Nocco said.

The boys’ 18-year-old brother also lived at the home, but he was not there at the time of the shooting and deputies said he was not involved.

Earlier, the sheriff said Kevin was 13 years old, but at the news conference, he said his birthday was later this month.

Kevin was in middle school. Brady attended elementary school and Trevor took virtual high school classes at home in the mornings and culinary classes at a technical school in the afternoons.

Grief counselors were at the schools to talk to their friends, students and teachers.

Trevor is in the hospital, and family members are with him. He is expected to be OK. When deputies try to talk to him, his heart rate spikes.

“You’ve got a 16-year-old who just saw something horrific, a living nightmare. I would never want anyone to be in his shoes. He’s grieving right now. He just lost two brothers,” Nocco said.

The family lived in the mobile home park off a dirt road in Hudson, which is about 30 miles north of Tampa on Florida’s Gulf coast.

“We rarely see cops in the neighborhood. It’s quiet here,” said neighbor Kipp Coleman.

The shootings happened about 2 miles from the location of another family slaying. In August, three members of a family and a fourth man were discovered dead. The ex-boyfriend of one of the victims is awaiting trial in those deaths.