12-year-old boy shot dead in Dania Beach murder-suicide
A 12-year-old boy was shot dead inside a Dania Beach 7-11 convenience store late Thursday night, and then the shooter turned the gun on himself, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
The incident started around 11:15 p.m. in the parking lot of the store, located at the 800 block of Stirling Road, when a man began firing shots at another man who was sitting inside his car.
After shooting and wounding that man, the gunman went inside the store and killed the boy, police said.
He then fatally shot himself, the BSO said in a press release Friday morning.
BSO said the gunman is 29-year-old Darren Rosenthal, and BSO spokesman Carey Codd told the Miami Herald “there is no known connection between the shooter and the victims.”
Codd added that there is also no clear connection between the victims, and it also wasn’t immediately known if the boy was at the store unaccompanied by an adult. The BSO said it was withholding both people’s names.
“The investigation is active and ongoing, and, at this time, the motive for the shooting is unknown,” Codd said in a statement.
Rosenthal and the boy were pronounced dead at the scene and one other person was taken to the hospital, Codd said. His condition was not immediately known.
Detectives are asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact BSO or submit a tip through the SaferWatch app.
People who want to remain anonymous can contact Broward Crime Stoppers at (954) 493--TIPS (8477) or online at browardcrimestoppers.org. Tipsters can also dial **TIPS (8477) from any cellphone in the United States, BSO says.
