Gunfight at quinceanera party ends with 1 teen dead and 3 wounded, Florida cops say

One teen was killed and three others were wounded when a gunfight erupted at a quinceanera party in a Florida public park, according to the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office.

It happened Sunday, Aug. 27, at the C. Scott Driver Recreational Area in Okeechobee, and all four teens were guests at the family event, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

“Shortly after midnight, there was an altercation between several young, underage gentlemen,” Sheriff Noel E. Stephen said at a news conference.

“During the course of this altercation, gunfire was exchanged between several of the individuals, resulting in a 16-year-old white male being shot and killed, and three others hit with bullet fire. ... We found almost two dozen shell casings on scene.”

Deputies intercepted one vehicle leaving the scene and found two gunshot victims in it, including the teen who later died, he said. The identity of the deceased teen has not been released.

Sebastian Urbana, 17, has been identified as a suspect in the killing. Urbana suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and “admitted to firing the fatal shots” while being hospitalized, officials said.

“Sebastian ... and was witnessed standing over our deceased and firing rounds into him while he was on the ground,” Stephen said.

The two other wounded teens suffered non-life threatening injuries and were treated and released from a hospital “to the custody of their parents,” officials said.

Urbana was charged with first-degree murder, officials said. He lives in Okeechobee County.

Investigators say the party was being held to celebrate a 16-year-old girl’s birthday. The celebration began Saturday and extended into Sunday morning, officials say. The cause of the argument has not been determined, officials said.

Quinceanera parties mark a girl’s coming of age at 15 and are a tradition among communities with ties to Central America and South America, experts say.

Okeechobee County is about 130 miles northwest of Miami.

This story was originally published August 28, 2023 at 10:24 AM with the headline "Gunfight at quinceanera party ends with 1 teen dead and 3 wounded, Florida cops say."