Teen dies after second run-in with gang violence in Lakeland

LAKELAND (FOX 13) - A violent triple shooting in Lakeland Monday night left a disabled teenager dead.

Deputies are calling this a gang-related shooting. The 17-year-old boy who died was already paralyzed from the waist down after a similar shooting that killed his little brother six years ago.

At first, people in the neighborhood thought it was fireworks, but it was a gunfire. Three people are now in custody, but a fourth is still on the loose.

“It wasn’t until three or four hours later that we realized it was the boy in the wheelchair,” explained neighbor Steve Jobe. “And it was devastating, knowing that he’d been shot before. It's like getting hit by lightning twice.”

The boy in the wheelchair was 17-year-old Jake Castillo, who was shot in another gang-related shooting in 2011.

“Jake’s brother was killed in that shooting and Jake was paralyzed. He's been in a wheelchair ever since,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.

Neighbors said Jake was well-liked, but they say other boys hung around.

“These boys down here have had trouble before. We've seen fights and police down at that house several times,” Jobe said.

Sheriff Judd says deputies know who the fourth suspect is and they will catch him soon.