Three teenage boys were shot in the space of a few minutes Saturday night in the latest flare-up of gun violence in the Glades, authorities said.The youngest victim of Saturday night's shootings was 13.The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office released none of the victims' names this morning.According to a statement circulated by the sheriff's office, the shootings happened this way:Deputies were called to Southwest 6th Street and Southwest Avenue F in Belle Glade about 8:45 p.m. and found the first victim, a 17-year-old sprawled on the ground and bleeding from gunshot wounds to his chest and arm.Sweeping the area, deputies found two more victims, a 15-year-old boy and the 13-year-old, who was taken to Glades General Hospital. The other two boys were taken to Delray Medical Center, where the older boy underwent emergency surgery.Information on their condition wasn't available Sunday morning.
Back at the crime scene, deputies found two guns and shell casings. The Palm Beach County Violent Crimes Task Force, a multi-agency group that specializes in gang and street crime, was called in to investigate.Saturday marked the second time since August in which several people were shot at once in the Glades, where gun violence and gang crime has escalated in recent months. On Aug. 5, five young men were shot - one fatally - in less than two hours. On Sept. 27, Norman Griffith, 18, a standout linebacker and tight end for Pahokee High, was shot to death outside a dance after his school's homecoming game. Two teenage boys were arrested in Griffith's murder, which authorities called a botched robbery attempt.The incident sharpened focus on gun crime in the Glades, but problems are persisting.