Tampa Police Detectives are investigating a double murder that occurred Sunday in the 3000 block of Van Buren Drive. The early morning home invasion left a teenage girl dead and her brother on life support. He died on Monday afternoon.

According to reports, Kiara Brito, 16, and her brother, Jeremi, 13, were  both shot. Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay is offering a reward of $1,000 for information that leads to the identification and arrest of the unknown suspect(s) responsible for the crime.

Kiara was a student at Robinson High School and Jeremi a student at James Madison Middle school.

Charles Waits

Person Of Interest
Tampa Police Detectives have identified Charles Stephan Waits, 19, as a person of interest in this weekend’s double murder. Detectives believe that he has information directly related to the homicides. There is an active warrant for his arrest for possession of cocaine.

Anyone with information about the person of interest is asked to call Tampa Police at (813) 231-6130.[private]

Several neighbors told police they heard gunshots at 5:55 a. m. and called 9-1-1. Officer found Kiara dead at the scene. Her brother, Jeremi, was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition. The pair were the only ones at home at the time of the shooting. Detectives determined this was not a random act of violent act and it appears the home was targeted.

Police spokesperson, Laura McElroy, said there were two locations where shots were fired; inside the home where the children were killed, and down the street at the corner of Van Buren and MacDill.

“As a result, leads have been developed connecting those two locations. As far as the mother is concerned, she was not at home at the time of the shooting, and is cooperating with police.”

McElroy said police have been called to the residence before, but she would not disclose the nature of those visits. She also said detectives aren’t releasing a motive for the shootings at this time as they are continuing a very complex investigation.

Kiara was a student at Robinson High School and Jeremi a student at James Madison Middle school.[/private]