LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A man is charged with murder after allegedly shooting two young stepbrothers from the Louisville area at a Panama City Beach, Florida, resort early Tuesday morning.
The stepbrothers are both 14 years old, and one of them died.
In a release, the Panama City Beach Police said the shooting happened around 1:30 a.m. CT on the beach at the Shores of Panama Resort on Thomas Drive.
When officers arrived at the scene, they found the body of one of the stepbrothers, shot in the upper body. The second victim was able to give police a description of the suspect, who coincidentally was originally from Louisville. The names of the victims have not been released.
Police said Christopher Lawrence Cox, 37, of Panama City Beach, is being held in the Bay County Jail on one charge of murder and one charge of attempted murder. He is scheduled to be in court Wednesday afternoon.
Christopher Lawrence Cox, 37, of Panama City Beach, Florida, is charged with murder for the death of a 14-year-old boy from the Louisville area. He allegedly shot the boy and his 14-year-old stepbrother at a resort. March 23, 2021.
Investigators said the stepbrothers were on vacation from the Louisville area when they encountered Cox on the beach that is part of the resort. Officers are still investigating what led up to the shooting.
"No one's in danger," PCBP Chief Drew Whitman said. "We do have the suspect, we do have the weapon, and we're treating this as a crime scene. And we'll go through this slowly to make sure we get justice for the family."
The second teen was treated and released from an area hospital with gunshot wounds to his extremities.
PCBP is emphasizing that the shooting did happen during spring break, but it was not related to spring break.
A city spokeswoman, Debbie Ward, said the beach where the shooting happened is part of the resort, but it is open to the public. However, the beach is scheduled to be closed April 1 to help reduce spring break crowds to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
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