FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A 32-year-old man was taken into custody Monday after witnesses identified the gunman who shot a woman and an 11-year-old boy over the weekend in Fort Lauderdale as Joshua Ladson, authorities confirmed.
An arrest warrant was obtained for Ladson, who is from Plantation, and he was arrested on two counts of attempted murder.
He is being held in lieu of a $100,000 bond.
Fort Lauderdale police said additional charges are pending as the investigation continues.
According to detectives, the shooting occurred during an altercation between two men around 6:40 p.m. Saturday near the Broward Metro Transit Center at 50 NW First St.
Police said a third man, identified as Stanley Johnson, 60, of Lauderhill, went and got a gun from a vehicle and gave it to Ladson, who was involved in the fight.
Ladson began to fire, but unintentionally struck the woman and boy who were walking in the area, authorities said.
Johnson was also arrested this week and faces two counts of aggravated battery with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Police said Johnson confessed to his role in the shooting after being identified by a witness.
Police said both victims, who are not related, remain in stable condition at Broward Health Medical Center.
A GoFundMe page has been created to assist the boy’s family during this time. According to the GoFundMe page, the boy’s mother is a single mom of three children. She does not have a car and has had to rely on ride-sharing services to visit her son in the hospital.
According to the boy’s mother, he was struck by a bullet in his liver and kidney. The bullet remains lodged inside him.
“I’m happy with what the judge said because I don’t want him out on the streets. My son is terrified,” the boy’s mother said after Ladson appeared in bond court Tuesday morning.