:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(1012x810:1014x812)/26-Year-Old-Dead-Stepfather-Shooting-052425-03-98f648105e7c47c2b924efa5e2ef55f3.jpg "Man, 26, Dead After Allegedly Being Shot Several Times by His Stepfather During an Argument About Fortnite")
NEED TO KNOW
- A man, 26, was fatally shot, allegedly by his 43-year-old stepfather, during an argument over Fortnite in Florida on May 21
- Police said Kelly Agar Garcia allegedly shot Azareel J. Martinez several times in the chest and abdomen, and then two more times in the back
- Garcia is being held at the Polk County Jail after being charged with second-degree murder and unlawful storage of a firearm (accessible to a minor)
A Florida man has been accused of fatally shooting his stepson amid an argument over a popular game.
The Davenport Police Department (DPD) was alerted to a domestic incident at a home on Citrus Landing Boulevard at approximately 7:10 p.m. local time on Wednesday, May 21. Kelly Agar Garcia, 43, and his wife, Adriane Daza, 48, were at the property alongside Daza’s two minor children, 9 and 11, and her adult son, Azareel J. Martinez, 26. Garcia is the stepfather of the three children, according to ABC Action News.
The 9-year-old had been playing Fortnite on a phone despite his mom telling him that he wasn’t allowed to play the game, WSAZ and KOLD News 13 reported.
When Daza took the phone away, the upset child allegedly took a Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun from his mother’s nightstand. Daza was unable to take the gun away from her young son, but Garcia was successful when he entered the room.
Police said Martinez then became involved and got into an argument with his stepfather, before Garcia allegedly shot him several times in the chest and abdomen, ABC Action News reported.
As Martinez was leaving the room, police believe Garcia shot him two more times in the back before he collapsed. According to the outlet, Martinez died after being taken to a local hospital.
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“I truly believe that if that child did not know where that gun was, none of this would have happened today, none of it,” Police Chief Steve Parker said during a press conference on Thursday, May 22, per ABC Action News. “It’s sad.”
Garcia is being held at the Polk County Jail after being charged with second-degree murder and unlawful storage of a firearm (accessible to a minor), according to inmate records viewed by PEOPLE.
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During the May 22 press conference, Parker said police had previously been to the family home due to a referral from the Florida Department of Children and Families in 2022. He added, however, that authorities were unable to comment further on the visit, per ABC Action News.
The DPD did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Saturday, May 24.
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