JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 16-year-old charged in a triple shooting that left a 19-year-old dead after a high school football game in Jacksonville will get a mental competency evaluation.
Robert Howard is charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder in the shooting that killed Joerod Adams and wounded two other teenagers.
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Howard, who's being prosecuted as an adult, was in court for a status conference Wednesday. A judge granted a motion by the defense for the psychological examination.
He's due back in court next week.
According to Howard's arrest affidavit, the teen warned one of his victims that there would be violence after the Raines-Lee football game.
“Somebody going to die tonight,” Howard told the victim during a mid-game confrontation, according to Duval County court documents.
Sheriff Mike Williams said Adams and a 17-year-old male Raines student were the intended targets when Howard opened fire after the game. He said a 16-year-old female Lee student appears to have been collateral damage.
The girl, who was hit by a stray bullet in her lower body, was treated and released, and the boy, who was wounded in his upper body, was in stable condition several days after the shooting.
Williams said Adams and the 17-year-old, who were at the game together, got into a confrontation with Howard inside the stadium during the second half.
Multiple witnesses told police they saw Howard approach Adams after the game, pull a handgun from his waistband and point it at Adams in the moments leading up to the shooting.
Homicide detectives said all three boys have known ties to criminal gangs, and it's unclear if the motive for the shooting was related to gang activity or the fight inside the stadium.
The shooting prompted administrators to ramp up security at both Raines and Lee high schools. In addition, a dozen prep football games were moved to Saturday mornings and Thursdays.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call police at 904-630-0500.