VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — The Florida United Methodist Children’s Home in Enterprise has ended its emergency shelter program following the arrest of two minors who ran away from the home earlier this month.
What You Need To Know
- Two children, aged 12 and 14, ran away from the Florida United Methodist Children’s Home in Enterprise
- The two are accused of breaking into a home and engaging in a shootout with responding deputies
- The children were being housed as part of an emergency shelter program, which has now been shuttered
The 14- and 12-year-old have been accused of breaking into a house, stealing guns there and firing at responding deputies outside. The state attorney charged them with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer.
In a statement given to Spectrum News 13, FUMCH administrators said the emergency shelter program the 14- and 12-year-old were in only represents a small part of what they do, but following this incident, they’ve decided to discontinue it.
They said there are two children currently in the program who will be relocated to different facilities.
Volusia County residents who live near the home want answers directly from administrators.
Thursday night, residents gathered in Enterprise to express their concerns about the home and invited FUMCH representatives who declined the invitation.
“I have been personally assaulted, we have had break-ins to our home, we have had the post office vandalized and ransacked, and somebody tried to set a fire behind it one time, so I really wish they were here to speak to us and to tell us where we are going to go to be a safer community,” said Enterprise resident Riley Nutt.
Further down in the statement, a spokesperson for FUMCH said: “We feel it is important to stress that we are on the frontlines of trying to provide a safe, secure and nurturing environment for children who desperately need our services. Every one of these children is a child of God and they deserve our mercy and grace.”