A 20-year-old man accused of killing an eight-year-old girl was arrested on Monday at the home of Florida TikTok rap duo The Island Boys.
Andrew James Thomas was identified as the gunman in a February 4th drive-by shooting that killed a young girl named Ronziyah Atkins.
According to WPBF 25 News, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant on Monday at the Coral Springs home owned by Franky Venegas and Alex Venegas, otherwise known as The Island Boys.
Dovi Bezner, The Island Boys’ manager, told WPBF that Thomas was a childhood friend, and had been staying with the brothers for the last several days. Bezner said the brothers were unaware of Thomas’ involvement in the shooting, nor have they been implicated in the police’s investigation.
“We had no idea any of this was going on, really. We just knew him as a quiet kid and he would come and hang out and do his thing and go back to whatever he got going on but we had no clue about any of these allegations toward him. We just knew him as a good person, someone who grew up with The Island Boys,” Bezner said. “If we knew anything like this was going on we wouldn’t have allowed him on the property.”
Thomas is charged with first-degree murder with a firearm, attempted first-degree murder with a firearm, and felony possession of a firearm.
