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Officers announce 4 arrests in Ethan Pritchard shooting; FSU LB was victim of 'mistaken identity'

On3 imageby: Ira Schoffel3 hours agoiraschoffel
On3 image
Florida State LB Ethan Pritchard speaks to the media during the spring. (Matt LaSerre/Warchant)

Saying he was a victim of “mistaken identity,” law enforcement officers announced Wednesday that four people had been arrested in connection with shooting of Florida State freshman linebacker Ethan Pritchard.

Gadsden County Sheriff Morris Young said authorities believe the motive for the shooting was retaliation for the shooting of another local man five days earlier. While Pritchard was not involved with that earlier incident, Young said his vehicle looked similar to one driven by suspects in that case.

“We believe the same type car that Ethan was driving was involved in that shooting,” Young said, while reiterating multiple times that Pritchard had no involvement or knowledge of that situation.

“Ethan was not — I say not — doing anything wrong in that area,” Young said.

Pritchard’s shooting occurred just one day after Florida State’s season-opening win over Alabama on Aug. 30. Authorities said the linebacker had spent the afternoon at a family cookout at his uncle’s house in Havana, Fla., and was driving his aunt back to her apartment when they came under attack from a “volley” of gunfire.

“He was ambushed, I would say, by gunfire,” Young said, noting that Pritchard’s aunt and a 3-year-old child were also in the vehicle but unharmed.

“They were in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Keith Wilmer, special agent in charge of the FDLE’s Tallahassee office.

FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass said three men and a juvenile were arrested Wednesday morning following a series of raids in Havana and nearby Woodville. The adult suspects were identified as Jayden Bodison, Caron Miller and Germany Atkins, and they are all being charged with three counts of attempted murder and one count of shooting into an occupied vehicle.

Glass said there are no other suspects at-large, but he added that this is still an active investigation. He and Young both thanked local residents for coming forward with “tips and leads” in the days following the shooting.

“I want to say I thank the community,” Young said. “They really rallied together.”

“When one hurts, we all hurt,” Glass added. “When something happens in our area, we all have to respond.”

Officers from the FDLE, Tallahassee Police, Leon County Sheriff’s Office, Havana Police, Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies took part in the investigation. Glass said investigators have spent the past week running down leads, interviewing community members and watching videos from various sources.

Shortly after the suspects were apprehended, Glass said, Pritchard’s father, Earl, was notified of the arrests.

“He was very relieved that we were able to make these arrests today,” Glass said.

Florida State athletics director Michael Alford was in attendance at Wednesday’s press conference and shared that Ethan Pritchard is still in “critical but stable” condition in a Tallahassee hospital.

“We would just like everyone to pray for him,” Alford said.

A GoFundMe account to help Pritchard and his family with medical and travel expenses had raised nearly $130,000 as of Wednesday evening.

Talk about this story with other die-hard FSU football fans on the Tribal Council.

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