A 17-year-old boy was charged with murder after police say he shot at a group of five people in Triangle, Virginia, late Monday. A 15-year-old boy was killed and three other people, including a 16-year-old boy, were hurt.
Prince William County police said in an update Wednesday morning that the suspect, a Triangle resident, was arrested Tuesday and charged with murder, aggravated malicious wounding, attempted aggravated malicious wounding and use of a firearm in commission of a felony. He was held at the county’s juvenile detention center. His name was not released.
Police shared new details on the shooting at a party in the 3700 block of Masthead Trail, east of Richmond Highway (Route 1).
According to the investigation thus far, the teen suspect and a group of five teen boys and young men knew each other and had an “ongoing dispute,” police said. The teen suspect fired at the group, killing the 15-year-old and wounding a 16-year-old, 18-year-old and 20-year-old.
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Neighbors told News4 they suddenly heard shots.
“I looked at my wife and said, ‘I don’t think that’s fireworks,’” Dumfries Councilmember Shaun Peet said.
Peet rushed to see what had happened and found one of the victims. He and other neighbors worked to help, he said.
“He was laying down, facing the grass, screaming, ‘Help me! Help me! I don’t want to die. Please help me,’” Peet said about one of the victims who survived. “Everyone came together very well to help out until the EMTs got here.”
Officers responded at about 10:30 p.m. and people ran, police said. Officers from Prince William County and Dumfries found and provided first aid to two shooting victims. Medics took them to a hospital, where the 15-year-old died of his injuries.
The 16-year-old was found in the area with a graze wound and was treated at a hospital, police said. Another victim also went to a hospital.
Peet, the councilmember, said his heart goes out to the family of the 15-year-old who died. He’s the father of 15-year-old twins himself.
“I can definitely have a picture of understanding the feeling of having a 15-year-old out the family,” he said.
The investigation is ongoing and detectives are working to identify “any other parties possibly involved in the fatal shooting,” police said. Anyone with potentially relevant information is asked to contact police.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
