Juveniles charged as adults with attempted homicide in shooting that paralyzed Buchholz student

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Yasin Kamel Al’olabi, 17, and Bryan Galindo Vega, 16, have been charged as adults with attempted homicide and armed robbery after allegedly shooting a Buchholz student, who is now paralyzed, during an armed robbery they had planned for a month.

At about 2:35 p.m. on October 5, Gainesville Police Department officers responded to The Oaks (6519 W. Newberry Road) and found a 17-year-old victim in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to his upper body. The bullet was later found to be lodged in his spine, and the victim is currently paralyzed from the waist down.

At the hospital, the victim reportedly told an officer he had arranged to meet Galindo Vega to sell him “carts” (THC vape cartridges); he said he knew Galindo Vega from school and that Galindo Vega had been trying to buy the vape cartridges for about four weeks.

The victim reportedly said that while he and Galindo Vega were standing outside his car discussing the transaction, he told Galindo Vega to pay him for the cartridges, and Galindo Vega took his cell phone out of his pocket. The victim said he saw that the phone was actively on a phone call, and at the same time, Al’olabi and another suspect came out of the bushes wearing ski masks and ran toward him. The victim said he realized he’d been set up, pushed Galindo Vega up against his car, and started hitting him; at the same time, the victim said, Galindo Vega was trying to grab the bag of cartridges from his hand.

The victim said that as the two masked suspects approached, he saw that one of them had a small blue handgun, and then one of them shot him in the shoulder at close range. The victim fell to the ground, where he said the suspects rummaged through his pockets and stole his cell phone, car key, and wallet, along with the vape cartridges. A .22 caliber shell casing was reportedly found on the ground next to the victim’s car.

A witness reportedly told an officer that he heard a gunshot, looked outside, and saw three people huddled over the victim on the ground; two of them were wearing ski masks. The witness said that when the three suspects saw him, they ran southbound on a trail.

Galindo Vega was arrested on October 12. Post Miranda, he reportedly said he had arranged to buy vape cartridges from the victim and arrived early with a friend from school he called “Yazz.” An unidentified third suspect arrived a little later, and “Yazz” and the other suspect hid in the bushes during the transaction, listening on the phone in case something went wrong. Galindo Vega said the victim started punching him for an unknown reason, and the other two people came out of the bushes to protect him; he said the third person, who he said he did not know, shot the victim, and “Yazz” and the unknown person stole the victim’s belongings. He said they fled south together before splitting up. He reportedly only had a nickname for “Yazz” and said he didn’t know anything about the suspect who shot the victim; he also denied knowing anything about a plan to rob the victim.

When Galindo Vega was arrested, his cell phone was recovered, and a search warrant was obtained for the contents of the phone. The search reportedly found multiple text messages between Galindo Vega and a person saved in his contacts as “YAZZ 100”; the phone number for “YAZZ 100” was confirmed to be Al’olabi’s phone number.

On August 22, Galindo Vega and Al’olabi reportedly began texting about trying to get vape pens from an unknown person, and they also mentioned trying to get a “pole” (slang for a firearm). During the text exchange, Galindo Vega reportedly wrote, “He can be r first lick” and “We go half 50/50” (“lick” is slang for robbery). Al’olabi later reportedly wrote that he felt bad about “bucking” the unknown person because he’s cool, and later he wrote, “I had an idea of someone we could buck too some white ***** he bought in bulk off ur brother.”

As Galindo Vega and Al’olabi’s conversation about a potential robbery continued, Al’olabi reportedly wrote, “Heyyy j** prolly gon pull up Inna car ima pull out dat pole aim it right at his sh**” and “Ima run up on his a** and Surprise him.” Later, Al’olabi reportedly wrote, “Betttt yea we go talk about it more ca [the victim] do got some good sh**.” Al’olabi reportedly wrote, “U trynna do it at da mall famly” and “Onbb an ima pull da pole out fam an u js finna snatch his sh** out his hands and we finna shoot two times and we out.” Galindo Vega reportedly replied, “Betttt, whatever part u want me to do idc ill snatch his sh** or do the shooting” and “We finna come up once we plan this sh** out properly.” Al’olabi reportedly wrote, “Cs he a white ***** that stick is needed only for if he try sum but we could really beat his a**” (“stick” is also slang for a firearm).

The arrest report states that over the next month, Galindo Vega tried multiple times to purchase “carts” from the victim, and messages between Galindo Vega and Al’olabi continued to discuss a potential robbery and plans for Galindo Vega to get a .22 caliber firearm. Multiple videos on Galindo Vega’s cell phone reportedly show him firing a small blue handgun, and there are also multiple photos of a small blue handgun on his cell phone.

On the morning of October 5, Galindo Vega and Al’olabi reportedly made plans by text for Galindo Vega to pick up Al’olabi, and Galindo Vega also reportedly sent texts to the victim to set up a meeting, including sending him an address at The Oaks. Galindo Vega reportedly asked the victim for a description of his car and sent that to Al’olabi.

At 1:54 p.m., Al’olabi sent a text to Galindo Vega that said, “Call me when he near,” and Galindo Vega responded that he would call at 2. At 2 p.m., Galindo Vega called Al’olabi at 2 p.m. and again at 2:25 p.m. At 2:26:42 p.m., Galindo Vega called Al’olabi, and the call lasted 1 minute 12 seconds, then at 2:27:40 p.m., Galindo Vega sent a text to Al’olabi that said, “Come out.”

An unknown individual also reportedly sent a text to Galindo Vega at 2:07 p.m., asking if he was going to the mall, and Galindo Vega responded, “I’m robbing sb rnn hold cuzzo.” At 4:33 p.m., Galindo Vega reportedly sent a text to the same person that said, “Yo I rob da white boo bro it ain’t go as plane bro my brother shot his a** in da back bro.”

The victim said the vape cartridge flavors included “yellow melonz,” “banana taffy,” “blackberry fire,” and “papaya bomb,” and on October 6, Galindo Vega reportedly made a video showing vape cartridges in those same flavors. On October 8, text messages reportedly showed Galindo Vega trying to sell “banana taffy,” “papaya bomb hybrid,” and “yellow melonz” vape cartridges to an unknown individual.

The arrest report concludes that the text messages indicate that Galindo Vega and Al’olabi had been planning for over a month to rob the victim at gunpoint, including the idea of shooting the victim if he did not comply.

Both juveniles have been charged as adults with attempted homicide and armed robbery; if the identity of the third suspect is known, it has not been made public.

Al’olabi has no previous juvenile history in Florida, but one court document notes that he may have “some unknown juvenile history in New York.” Judge Susan Miller-Jones ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold him without bail until trial.

Galindo Vega has an unspecified juvenile criminal history in 2024. Judge David Kreider granted a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold him without bail until trial.

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.