Marion County Sheriff Shutting Down Gun Control Questions Sparks Debate

A law enforcement official in Florida is receiving an influx of both praise and criticism for comments he made about guns at a press conference detailing the arrests of two juvenile individuals who allegedly shot and killed three teenagers.

On Friday the Marion County Sheriff's Office announced that two suspects, Robert Robinson, 17, and Christopher Atkins, 12, were arrested in relation to the shooting death of 16-year-old Layla Silvernail and the deaths of two other individuals, a 16-year-old girl identified as Camille Quarles, and a 17-year-old boy who's not yet been named, according to News4Jax.

The deaths of these three add to the growing statistics of children killed by gunfire each year in America, happening the week after Nashville's Covenant School shooting, which took the lives of seven people. The Gun Violence Archive reports more than 400 children ages 0-17 have been killed by gunfire this year alone.

Another suspect, Tahj Brewton, 16, remains at large. Authorities say Brewton should be considered armed and dangerous.

Investigators found the three victims throughout the Ocklawaha area, outside of Ocala, which is about 80 miles (129 kilometers) northwest of Orlando, within days of each other but said that the three victims were shot at the same time.

April 7 Press Conference Sparks Gun Control Debate

"We are shocked not only are the victims juveniles, but the murderers are juveniles as well," Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said Friday at the press conference. "I know each of you in the media here and the viewers out there heard us in law enforcement or even in community events talk about what is the problem.

"I'm going to go ahead and address the first thing that I know is going to come up because there are individuals out there viewing, including some of you media, who want to blame the one thing that has no ability or the capacity to commit the crime itself—and that's the gun. These individuals committed the crime."

When pondering the solution to the gun issue in America, Woods said, "I wish I could give you the answer." He added that the actions of society's juveniles are "minimized" and that "the bad guy's gonna get a gun no matter what law you have in place."

A police report of the investigation shared with Newsweek showed that sheriff deputies initially responded to a call at about 10:52 p.m. March 30 in response to an injured female laying on the side of the road suffering from a gunshot wound.

The female, later identified as Silvernail, was transported to a hospital where she later died.

The next morning at about 7:55 a.m., deputies responded to a male individual laying on the side of the road. He was deceased from an apparent gunshot wound.

At about 12:28 p.m. April 1, deputies followed a tip and reportedly located Silvernail's vehicle abandoned and partially submerged in a pond near Ocklawaha. It was discovered approximately 9 miles away from the location where her body was found.

Officers searched the vehicle and found another victim, reported to be Quarles, inside the vehicle and deceased from an apparent gunshot wound.

The Marion County Sheriff's Office declined to comment to Newsweek on Woods' gun-related comments.

'No nonsense' or 'unhelpful'?

"I am not sure that simply being a sheriff makes you an expert in firearms policy any more than being a judge makes you an expert in history," Saul Cornell, a history chair at Fordham University and a gun control advocate, told Newsweek via email. "Everyone has an opinion about guns, but not everyone's opinion is well reasoned or informed by evidence."

The sheriff's words were praised by one retired police officer, who tweeted that he loves the "good ol' boy sheriff." Leo Terrell, a civil rights attorney and podcast host, tweeted that Woods is "a no nonsense law enforcement officer."

One Twitter user had the opposite reaction, referring to the press conference as "one of the most contentious, awkward, bat s*** crazy press conferences I have ever seen."

CNN national security analyst Juliette Kayyem reportedly told CNN's Kate Bolduan on air that the press conference "was the craziest, most unhelpful press conference."

"It was defensive, personal, making legal representations that hurt the prosecution in the future," Kayyem reportedly said. "It sounded like a political campaign...When you come into a press conference and say, 'This has nothing to do with guns,' you've lost me. Not because I want to have a debate about guns, but because you've come into the discussion already telling me, 'It's all the kids' fault.'"

Wanted: Tahj Brewton, 16, considered 'armed and dangerous'

Tahj Brewton, 16, should be considered "armed and dangerous," the Marion County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post.

Up to a $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of Brewton, the Sheriff's Office's post said. The United States Marshal's Service has offered up to $5,000, and the Florida Sheriff's Association Criminal Apprehension Assistance Program has also offered a $5,000 reward.

Brewton, in addition to being wanted in connection with the triple homicide, is wanted for several felony offenses, including: carjacking with a firearm, aggravated assault, grand theft of a motor vehicle, fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer, and tampering with an electronic monitoring device. Investigators said those other crimes are not connected to the triple homicide, according to NewsJax4.

Update 04/07/23, 6:02 p.m. ET: This story was updated with background information.