Man Accused of Shooting Relative Near Gulf Middle Is in Jail

The man accused of shooting his half-sister in an apartment near Gulf Middle School in April, triggering a lockdown there, is behind bars in Pasco County.

Elijah Jamar Booze, 21, was arrested in the Clearwater area of Pinellas County last week on a warrant. He was transferred to the Land O’ Lakes Jail June 2 and charged on June 6 with aggravated assault and aggravated battery causing great bodily harm.

Booze’s half-sister was taken to the hospital after she was shot in the leg at her apartment at 6435 Illinois Avenue on April 11. She told police that Booze had shot her and might still be in the apartment. The New Port Richey Police went to the scene, joined by Pasco County Sheriff’s Office S.W.A.T. forces.

Nearby Gulf Middle was locked down as the police tried to see if Booze was still at the apartment. They removed 3-year old and 18-month-old children from inside. Booze, however, had fled.

The police later got into contact with a former girlfriend of Booze. She told police Booze called her for a ride. She said Booze had blood on his khaki “Dickie” shorts. He told her he didn’t know how it got there.

She got a call from a friend telling her about the shooting. She asked Booze about it. He didn’t reply. She dropped him off in Clearwater.

A police officer interviewed the shooting victim, who is recovering from her injury, according New Port Richey Police Chief Jeffrey Harrington, and her boyfriend, who was in the apartment when she was shot. According to an officer, the boyfriend said  he, the woman who was shot and Booze had been partying the night before the incident. He said he and Booze smoked some “weed.” The next morning, the woman and her boyfriend argued, made up then argued again. Booze got involved and pushed his half-sister. She fell into a small wooden table in the living room.  Booze told her to shut up and not argue with her boyfriend.

The woman told police she went into the kitchen and ran out with a large knife. She and Booze argued. Booze pulled out a gun, pushed the victim away from him and shot her in the living room.  The woman said Booze put a gun to her head and told her he would kill her.

The boyfriend said he looked the boyfriend “right in the eye” but didn’t say anything.

The boyfriend told police he dropped the woman off at a local hospital. He was arrested on a warrant that day after he went to a nearby apartment.

Before the shooting, Booze was wanted for several charges, including a charge of lewd and lascivious behavior issued in March. He is in jail pending more than $100,000 bail.