Canadian diplomat's teen son charged with murder in US

MIAMI - The 15-year-old son of the Canadian consul general in Miami was charged with murder Wednesday after a shootout with suspected drug dealers that left his 17-year-old brother dead, court sources said.

A grand jury in Miami-Dade County indicted the teen, Marc Wabafiyebazu, on first-degree murder charges. He was to be transferred from a juvenile detention centre to a jail pending trial.

Wabafiyebazu - whose mother is diplomat Roxanne Dube - will be tried as an adult.

His attorney, Curt Obront, told AFP: "We will be entering a plea of not guilty to the charges." Police say the teen and his 17-year-old brother Jean drove their mother's car, which had diplomatic license plates, to a house in Miami, where they allegedly planned to steal a kilo of marijuana from drug dealers.

A shootout ensued in which the older teen and a suspected dealer were killed. Two others who were wounded at the house have also been charged with murder.

Dube, a veteran diplomat, was named Canada's consul general in Miami in November and her sons joined her in February.