19-year-old shooter arrested after targeting teen rival for adult woman, Rockledge police say

J.D. Gallop, Florida Today
·2 min read
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A 19-year-old Titusville man who Rockledge police said shot and wounded a 15-year-old in an apartment complex parking lot has been taken into custody and charged. Police said the pair were romantic rivals for the same 35-year-old woman, who has also been arrested.

Diante Stokes was charged with attempted murder, possession of a firearm and violation of probation after detectives linked him to the shooting victim and the woman, who had been befriended by both teens, court records show. The condition of the teen who was shot was not immediately known Wednesday, but the injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

Chanel Williams was charged with child neglect, furnishing a firearm to a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

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Rockledge police say 15-year-old was shot over the weekend following threats.
Rockledge police say 15-year-old was shot over the weekend following threats.

The shooting happened about 10 p.m. Saturday at Hammock Harbor apartments, 1330 Naples Cir., after the 15-year-old, the woman and her children returned from a restaurant. Police were called to the location after reports of multiple gunshots and found the unidentified teen with gunshot wounds to the chest and leg, Rockledge Police Chief Deputy Donna Seyferth said.

The teen was treated by paramedics, then airlifted to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women in Orlando as officers searched for a gunman wearing an orange ski mask. Officers searched through a bag belonging to the 15-year-old and found a 9mm handgun.

The gun was traced back to the woman, who officers determined had engaged with the 15-year-old, records show. The woman denied having a relationship but admitted having sexual contact with the teen.

Officers also determined that the woman had relations with Stokes and that Stokes had grown increasingly jealous of her attention to the other teen. Threats were also bandied back and forth over Snapchat between Stokes and the other teen, detectives said. The woman later told police that she gave the unnamed younger teen the gun as protection against a jealous Stokes, records show.

Stokes and Williams remain held at the Brevard County Jail Complex.

J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Rockledge Florida shooting involved teens fighting over adult woman