Photo: Sumter County Sheriff's Office
A 16-year-old forced his way into a Florida home and fatally stabbed a 15-year-old during a sleepover the victim was hosting, Sumter County Undersheriff Pat Breeden announced on the department's Facebook page Sunday (June 3).
Alexander Hernandez was charged with premeditated first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and armed burglary. Hernandez reportedly walked nearly six miles before showing up unannounced and "banged" on the front door of Connor Michael Gill's Wildwood home at around 10:00 p.m. on Saturday (June 1), according to Breeden.
Gill opened the door and Hernandez fought his way inside, fatally stabbing him. A 48-year-old ran over to see what was happening and was also reportedly stabbed by Hernandez, who then threatened to stab a third victim before fleeing the scene on foot, according to Breeden.
“This was no doubt a premeditated and targeted attack,” Breeden said.
Gill, who was airlifted to a hospital, was pronounced dead at around 1:20 p.m. on Sunday. The adult victim, who was also airlifted, was reported to still be in ICU but in stable condition, according to Breeden.
Hernandez was located by a police helicopter and arrested hours later. Police said the suspect had two weapons on him when he was detained, which Breeden showed in his update video shared on the department's Facebook account.
Hernandez told police that he ordered the two weapons online last Thursday (May 30) and they arrived on Saturday, adding that he played with them for a bit before walking to the victim's home. Police have not yet determined the motive for the stabbing.
Both Hernandez and the victim were homeschooled, however, it's unclear whether they knew each other prior to the incident.