ORLANDO, Fla. — A Pop Warner football player who witnessed the shooting that left two of his teammates injured said he’s still coping with what he saw on Monday night.

What You Need To Know

  • An 11-year-old boy who is charged with one count of second-degree attempted murder will remain in custody after a detention hearing

  • The boy is accused of shooting at two of his teammates Monday night after their football practice

  • Jaylen Laster was trying to break up a fight between those teammates before he saw gunfire, he held one of the victims that was shot

  • Apopka police say no charges have been filed against the suspect’s mother at this time

Jaylen Laster sat down with his father and his pastor on Wednesday inside God is Able Outreach Ministries in Pine Hills to discuss the shooting and has one message for everyone in the community.

“Stop the violence, and put the guns down,” he said.

An 11-year-old boy is charged with one count of second-degree attempted murder in the shooting of two of his teammates Monday night after their football practice at Northwest Recreation Complex in Apopka. The boy remains in custody after a detention hearing Wednesday. Another hearing in the case will be held in three weeks.

Pastor Stovelleo Stovall has known Laster since he was 4 years old. He is now 12 and said he was trying to break up a fight between his teammates before he saw gunfire. He held one of the victims that was shot.

Apopka police released the video of the shooting from the parking lot of the Pop Warner field. Laster said it started off as a regular day at practice, and then a fight happened. Video surveillance shows a boy running toward a car.

“Somebody had yelled, 'He’s grabbing something. He’s grabbing something,' and that’s when I had moved and I had seen him and he grabbed it, he ran and then he shot him," Laster said.

Stovall said Pop Warner is a sanctuary for youths, often a safe haven. He said he’s hoping this incident doesn’t set Laster back and make him fearful to continue to commit to football.

“This young man saw something. What he kept telling me when he talked to me is: ‘Pastor, I saw the fire from the gun. Pastor, I saw the fire from the gun.’ He was that close, and I think that’s what traumatized him the most,” Stovall said.  

Julius Laster, Jaylen’s dad, has three boys and one daughter, and said he immediately worried about Jaylen Laster's safety when he learned about shooting.

“When your child is involved with anything that has a gun involved, the first thing is fear. 'Is my child okay?'” Julius Laster said.

Wednesday evening league officials met with parents to discuss future protocols. Parents who attended the meeting say the league does have some good ideas.

John Ferrer, whose son plays on the 12u team, described some of the potential plans.

“We discussed what (parents) need to do,” Ferrer begins to explain. “Sometimes players tend to hang out, especially if parents are late to pick up their kid.” 

Apopka Mayor Bryan Nelson also attended some of the meetings. He hopes to see the proposed plans in writing soon, because he believes it could affect other sports spaced out across the park.

Nelson did say an officer would be at the teams games on Saturday, but at this time is unsure how much more police presence would be added or present during the week for practices.

The defense attorney for the 11-year-old boy who was charged said Wednesday that children should not have to end up sitting in jail in these cases. Attorney Robert Mandell said parents need to play a key role to prevent acts of violence.

"Yes, kids need to be punished for what they do, but an 11 year old does not understand what he has done," Mandell said. "And there has to be a better way. This is a true tragedy. This should be a wake-up call for all parents."

Apopka police said no charges have been filed against the suspect’s mother at this time.

However, police said she was in the car at the time of the shooting. The weapon was pulled out of the car, police said.