MIRAMAR, Fla. – Rhonda Fraser is devastated and confused. She says her 16-year-old son Azarya Murphy was shot and killed Monday night in Miramar.
Police say a teen robbery suspect died while committing an armed robbery when the alleged victim shot him in self-defense.
Murphy’s mother says that is not the son she knows and loves.
“You know, you raise your kids, you never know what they do behind your back, but at the same time, this doesn’t make any sense to me,” she said. “He was just so humble and mild-mannered. When you asked him what he wants to do, football was the only thing he would say. ... He doesn’t have a record. He’s never been suspended from school. I don’t know. I don’t get it.”
Murphy played football at Miami Northwestern Senior High School. Fraser said her son was so dedicated to playing for that prominent program that he would wake up at 5 a.m. on school days to Uber from his home in Miramar to his coach’s house, who would then take him to school.
The incident Monday night happened in the Silver Shores community where Murphy lived. Police — who have not yet officially released the identity of the teenager — said a gun was found next to him. The gun did not belong to him and was different than the one used to shoot him, investigators say.
“Everything doesn’t add up,” Murphy’s mother said. “If he’s robbing, why’s he shot in the back of the head? Why’s his phone missing? Why’s there a gun on the floor next to him without his prints? Where is one plus one equaling two here, because it’s not equaling two to me.”
Miramar police say there are two additional robbery suspects that they have yet to arrest.
Fraser refers to them as “frenemies. They have nothing going on for themselves. They left my son there to die.”
“The other kids — they ran off. They’re in the comfort of their home with their parents,” she added. “I have to put my child in the ground.”
Miramar police said Thursday that they have no additional information to release, but that their investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with further information about the robbery and shooting is asked to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.