Canadian Teen Visiting Florida Is Fatally Shot

A Canadian teenager on spring break was fatally shot while he spoke to his mother from a public telephone, police said Saturday.

Mark A. Fyke of Belleville, Ontario, was shot in the back of the head late Friday near a stretch of beach that draws an estimated 300,000 students this time of year.

Fyke, 19, was with a friend, Che Guerrera, also of Canada, when a group of at least five youths approached them, police said.

“One of the suspects walked up to the phone next to Fyke, picked up the phone and set it back down,” said Daytona Beach police spokesman Al Tolley. “The suspect grabbed Fyke and asked for his wallet or money.”

The shooter, described as heavyset and about 16, then fired a shot from a handgun before fleeing toward the beach, Tolley said.

“I just heard some voices in the background,” Fyke’s mother, Christine Fyke, told the Canadian Press news agency. “I thought someone wanted to use the phone. He said, ‘I’ve got to get going, Mom. I’ll see you later.’

“And that was it.” She said she didn’t hear a shot.