18-year-old charged with attempted homicide in suspected gang-related shooting at Grove at Sweetwater Preserve in March

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Malachi Ahmad Rosario, 18, was arrested yesterday for possession of a short-barreled shotgun and subsequently charged with attempted homicide for his alleged role in a suspected gang-related shooting at The Grove at Sweetwater Preserve on March 16.

At about 8 p.m. on March 16, Gainesville Police Department (GPD) officers responded to The Grove at Sweetwater Preserve (125 SE 19th Place) after receiving calls about shots fired. Officers reportedly found about 22 shell casings from a rifle (.223/.556) and 9mm pistols in front of a building and confirmed that bullets had hit at least three apartments and two vehicles. Officers reported that the apartments “were occupied with adults and young children who narrowly avoided being struck by the bullets,” but nobody was injured in the shooting.

Video surveillance showed a white sedan driving into the area just before the shooting and then fleeing at a high rate of speed immediately after the shooting.

A GPD Detective had been investigating a juvenile and “The South” gang for firearm-related crimes and reportedly found “numerous” photos and videos of Rosario holding a shotgun with a sawed-off barrel while visiting a home in Lincoln Estates during April. A search warrant was obtained for the home and was served on April 25; the search reportedly produced the same shotgun, and the detective confirmed that its barrel was shorter than the legal length. The search also reportedly produced a Premier Firearms PF-15 AR pistol, and preliminary results from test firing the pistol correlated to the .223/.556 shell casings found on March 16.

At about 9:45 a.m. on June 4, a traffic stop was conducted on a vehicle on SE Hawthorne Road, and Rosario, a passenger in the vehicle, was arrested for possession of a short-barreled shotgun, based on the video evidence.

Post Miranda, Rosario reportedly admitted he had possessed the short-barreled shotgun while visiting the Lincoln Estates home. Rosario also reportedly said he had been picked up on March 16 by other subjects in a stolen white Volkswagen, and the occupants of the car wore masks and gloves while driving to The Grove at Sweetwater Preserve. When they arrived, they saw a group of people standing near the stairwell of a building, and one of the other subjects identified those people as the intended targets of the people in the car. Rosario reportedly said they parked the car and walked around the building to ambush the “targets” and fired “numerous” rounds of bullets; he reportedly admitted firing the AR pistol on March 16. Rosario and the others then drove back to Lincoln Estates in the stolen car.

The detective reported that the location of the shell casings matched Rosario’s account of the incident.

The detective noted that there is evidence that the shooting was gang-related and that Rosario and the others in his car, who are associated with the “South,” targeted a group associated with the “Bricks” because of recent issues between the two groups.

Rosario has been charged with attempted homicide, shooting into a dwelling or vehicle, and possession of a short-barreled firearm. He has a juvenile conviction from 2023. Judge Jonathan Ramsey ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold him without bail until trial; if a judge denies that motion and sets bail, that amount will be added to the $25,000 Judge Ramsey set for the short-barreled firearm possession charge.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.