Four men have been arrested and three have been charged with three counts of attempted murder in the shooting of Florida State freshman linebacker Ethan Pritchard on Sunday in Havana, Florida.
Jayden Bodison, Caron Miller and a juvenile are charged with three counts of attempted murder and one count of shooting into an occupied vehicle. A fourth suspect, Germany Atkins, is charged with one count of probation violation.
The arrests were announced in a press conference on Wednesday afternoon at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement headquarters. The Gadsden County Sheriff department requested that FDLE take the lead in the case.
“Ethan was not, I say not, doing anything wrong in that area,” Gadsden County Sheriff Morris Young said.
While a full report from the shooting has not yet been released, officials from various law enforcement agencies released some details during the press conference.
Officials think the August 31st shooting is related to a previous one in Havana where Marcus Harris was a victim and was “shot multiple times.” The officials also think Pritchard was driving a similar car to Harris and that this case is one of “mistaken identity.”
Ethan Pritchard was driving his aunt and a 3-year-old home from a party at a family member’s house. Officials think Pritchard, his aunt and a 3-year-old were “ambushed by gunfire.”
Pritchard’s aunt and the 3-year-old were not injured. Ethan Pritchard was shot in the head. He remains in critical but stable condition at a Tallahassee hospital, FSU athletics director Michael Alford said.
The investigation into Pritchard’s shooting remains open, but officials don’t think there are any additional suspects in the case.
A court appearance for the four men who have been arrested is not yet known. They were arrested as part of search warrants that were issued on Wednesday morning.
Pritchard’s father, Earl, spent Saturday with the Florida State football team. He was on the sideline and in the locker room with the Seminoles, and coach Mike Norvell gave Earl a game ball to take to Ethan in the hospital.
“I recruited him for years, got a chance to watch him grow and just when he committed to Florida State, the way that he plays the game, it's a passion, energy,” Norvell said after Saturday’s game. “He loves it. Absolutely loves it.
“To know that right now that's taken away from him in a senseless act and something that just — you don't always know why. You don't always know why you have to go through things in life. You don't understand the reasoning. But I do believe that God has his hand over Ethan.”
Pritchard signed with the Seminoles in December and enrolled early in January. Teammates have reflected with warm memories of their time with Pritchard, even if they have just begun to get to know him.
“His locker is next to mine,” linebacker Stefon Thompson said after Wednesday’s practice. “He's a young guy in our group. It was kind of hard for us. We just have to work for him at this point. I know he wanted to be here in his heart, soul wants to be here. We're just praying for him right now and hope the best for him.”
