Florida man won’t be charged with fatally shooting 15-year-old boy who was looking for lost phone in gated community

DAILYMAIL • 1h ago

By ALYSSA GUZMAN, US NEWS REPORTER 17:47 02 Oct 2026, updated 17:47 02 Oct 2026

A Florida man will not be charged for fatally shooting a 15-year-old boy who was looking for a phone in the man’s backyard.

The State Attorney’s Office declined to press charges against the unidentified man, who is in his mid-20s, after he fatally shot Heitor Amaral on September 20 in Tampa, citing the state’s Stand Your Ground self-defense law.

Police have not released Amaral’s name, but his family confirmed to the Tampa Bay Times that he was the boy involved.

The night before, Amaral had gone to a teen club with his friends, where he lost his phone. The next morning, his friend, Julio Gonzalez, tracked its location to a gated community called The Club at Hidden Rivers.

Disobeying his mother’s pleas to wait for her, Gonzalez, Amaral and another friend headed toward the community, afraid the phone would eventually die and they wouldn’t be able to track it anymore, his mother told The Times.

The boys entered the community through an open gate and began knocking on doors to ask homeowners if they had seen the phone.

When they arrived at the man’s home, he didn’t answer his door. They then proceeded to go into his backyard, the Tampa Police Department said in a statement.

They entered the enclosed patio, where they started banging on the sliding glass door, police said.

‘According to the investigation, the resident stated he put on a mask and armed himself to scare off the individuals he observed on his private back patio attempting to access his sliding glass door,’ police said.

The other teens fled the premises, but a physical altercation happened between the man and Amaral. During the struggle, the man said Amaral placed him in a headlock, causing him to ‘fear for his life.’

Moments later, a gunshot was heard, hitting the freshman, police said.

Gonzalez’s mother told The Times that the other boys didn’t see the altercation as they were running away.

They told the mother that Amaral had fallen behind and they lost sight of him before hearing the gunshots.

Julio had also told his mother that the man ‘looked like he had a new toy’ and that he was ‘jumping up and down and he was ready to use it,’ The Times reported.

Amaral’s sister, Maysa, said her brother was short and skinny, and unlikely to start a fight.

‘So unless the other party instigated a fight, or unless the kids were trying to actually physically protect themselves, I don’t see them starting a fight,’ she told the outlet.

When authorities arrived at the scene, they found Amaral ‘critically injured.’ He died shortly after.

Police did not find the teen’s phone on the property.

‘We recognize the profound pain and concern this tragedy has caused for the family and friends of those involved, and for our entire community,’ police said in a statement.

The family started a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral expenses.

It has so far garnered more than $6,000 of its $10,000 goal.

The Daily Mail has reached out to the family for comment.

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