Elias Morrero, 18, male, died on June 19, 2025, after being found with a gunshot wound to the neck in Riviera Beach, Florida. Police and witnesses said he had been sitting in a red Kia Optima near 28th Avenue and Avenue S when he exited the car clutching his neck before collapsing. A passerby stopped and called 911, and officers rushed him to St. Mary’s Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Detectives quickly treated the case as a homicide and, the next day, located and detained a juvenile suspect. According to Riviera Beach police, the suspect—whose name was initially withheld—was booked on counts of second-degree murder, possession of a firearm by a minor, and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and was turned over to the Juvenile Assessment Center. Authorities emphasized the investigation remained active while asking the public for tips.
In the weeks that followed, investigators obtained surveillance footage and a detailed account that shifted the charging posture. After the suspect turned 18 on July 5, he was publicly identified as Fabien Lewis and arrested in connection with the shooting. A probable-cause affidavit described how the encounter grew out of a marijuana transaction arranged through the Instagram account of Lewis’s girlfriend; detectives believe Elias Morrero thought he was meeting the girlfriend when Lewis entered the vehicle to buy $200 worth of marijuana. Lewis told police the gun discharged during a struggle after the firearm in his waistband became visible. Investigators said video captured him fleeing and dropping a magazine; he later returned home, hid the weapon, and ultimately surrendered with his girlfriend. He was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on a manslaughter while armed charge.
Public reporting and memorial postings identified the victim as Elias Timothy Morrero and reaffirmed his age and the date and location of the shooting. Initial coverage varied in describing his age because of early police statements, but subsequent reports and records consistently listed him as 18. The investigation narrative—beginning with the juvenile arrest on June 20 and continuing to the adult identification and manslaughter booking in July—illustrates how the case evolved as evidence was gathered and the suspect reached adulthood.
