12-Year-Old Shot In Largo: Pinellas County Sheriff

LARGO, FL — A 12-year-old was shot at a home in unincorporated Largo Friday evening, according to a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office news release.

Yancy Crowder, 31, was charged with aggravated child abuse with a deadly weapon, felon in possession of a firearm and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Deputies responded to a report of shots fired on Verona Avenue just after 6:30 p.m. They found the 12-year-old victim with a gunshot wound to his shoulder area, the sheriff’s office said.

The suspect and another man were in front of the home when Calvert Hart, 31, arrived. Crowder went into the home, got a gun, went back outside and shot in Hart’s direction multiple times.

As Hart left the area, Crowder continued to shoot at him. The 12-year-old, who was standing in a nearby front yard on Verona Avenue, was hit by a bullet, the sheriff’s office said.

Crowder also left the scene before deputies arrived.

The child was brought to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Detectives with the agency’s Tactical Investigation Section, working with the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, arrested Crowder Saturday on three felony warrants in Zephyrhills.

While being interviewed, he admitted that he was at the Largo-area address the evening of the shooting but denied having a gun or hearing any gunshots. He told deputies that it was "coincidental" that he left the area before law enforcement showed up.

He was brought to the Pasco County Jail, pending transfer to the Pinellas County Jail.