Kentucky spring breakers help injured teen after Florida shooting

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - In the blink of an eye, a pair of spring breakers from Kentucky rushed to the assistance of a Louisville teenager and his stepbrother who were shot at Panama City Beach early Tuesday morning.

It was around 1:30 a.m. Central time when police were called near the Shores of Panama condominiums, where a shooting had been reported.

The two Kentucky residents were moments away as the incident occurred.

“Thankfully me and my best friend Emilee, she’s an RN and she works in the emergency department at the hospital,” Kinlee Adams said. “I’m a nursing student and I work at a hospital too. So we’ve kind of got experience with this and we both went straight into nursing mode.”

They were in their condo, headed out, when they heard what sounded like gunshots. They got one of the teens to safety by the pool deck and attempted to stop the bleeding. Adams described three bullet wounds to the teen’s arm and foot.

The other 14-year-old, from Louisville, was found unresponsive between two beach chairs and was later pronounced dead by officials.

While waiting for police to arrive, the RN and the nursing student stayed with the teen and helped tend to his wounds.

“It’s crazy to think that if we would’ve left a couple of minutes sooner, it could have been us,” Adams said. “I hate that a family had to lose their son, but I’m thankful that we were able to help him.”

Christopher Lawrence Cox, 37, of Panama City Beach, faces one count of murder and one count of... — Christopher Lawrence Cox, 37, of Panama City Beach, faces one count of murder and one count of attempted murder.(Panama City Beach Police Department)

Family told WAVE 3 News the injured teen made it to the hospital where he’s still recovering. He is scheduled for another surgery Wednesday.

Reports state the two teenagers were on the beach when a man approached them asking for a cigarette. They said he wouldn’t leave and later threatened to shoot them.

The suspect then shot the two teens and tried to run away but was stopped by an officer. According to an arrest report, he was identified as 37-year-old Christopher Cox, also from Louisville but now lives in Florida.

Police have not confirmed a timeline of events and the case is still under investigation.