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Teen dies from gunshot wound;organsdonated

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By SHERRI ACKERMAN

sackerman@tampatrib.com

Published: May 26, 2009

TAMPA - A 14-year-old boy shot in the head late Saturday afternoon has died.

Devin Pacheco of North Tampa was with a group of friends and his older brother when, authorities think, he was shot by a gang member.

Someone drove Devin and his brother to the University Community Hospital in Carrollwood. Devon later was taken by ambulance to the trauma unit at St. Joseph's Hospital, his grandfather, Carl Hare, said.

The teen was pronounced brain dead on Sunday, and his organs were harvested the next day for donation, said Hare, 58, of Tampa.

"The kid happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said. "He wasn't in a gang. ... If you had met him, you would've liked him. He liked to eat, liked to dance."

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Spokeswoman Debbie Carter said Devin was not a gang member but socialized with gang members and was known as a "gang associate."

Deputies still don't know where Devin was when he was shot shortly before 4:30 p.m.

According to some accounts, Devin was in the front passenger seat and was trying to exit the car to let someone else out when he was shot, Hare said. No arrests have been made.

Reporter Sherri Ackerman can be reached at (813) 259-7144.

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