Law enforcement had arrested a 16-year-old boy and charged him with the murder of four people in separate locations that they believe are related to gang violence.
According to Daily Mail, the boy, Michael Mason, from Southeast Washington DC, was apprehended by police on Wednesday and will be charged as an adult.
Young criminal
Authorities suspect the boy of killing 31-year-old Terrance Griffin, 20-year-old Jaszel Henderson, 21-year-old Brea Moon who was pregnant at the time, and 18-year-old Antwuan Roach. The killings were spread between the sixth and seventh districts.
An affidavit stated that an April incident involved a pregnant woman, Moon, who was used as a human shield for a gunshot target. Moon lived in Maryland while the other victims resided in Southeast DC.
With the death of Moon, Mason defended himself, saying the driver of the vehicle he was in was to blame for the incident. The suspect stated he was riding in the back of a Honda Crosstour when the driver suddenly fired a gun into the vehicle where Moon was sitting.
Later, Moon was found inside the car and transferred into a hospital where she died of her wounds, the driver who shot at her sped through to Maryland.
The suspect said that he was not aware there was a female passenger inside the car that was shot, wrote the affidavit. It added that Mason confessed he was planning on killing a different person who was allegedly troubling the neighborhood.
Investigators, however, revealed they found shell casings in the area of the murder and said they would have found them inside the car if the statement that the driver reached out into the other to shoot was true.
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Court documents stated that Mason was connected to the Simple City's Avenue faction, which conducted southeast Alabama Avenue operations. Police officers tracked the suspect's movements using cellphone records, as reported by NBC Washington.
Authorities suspect Mason being involved in nine shooting between April and May and is charged with first-degree murder and assault with intent to kill using a dangerous weapon.
Crime after release
The first shooting occurred 11 days after Mason was released from juvenile detention for an unrelated absconding incident.
The murder of Roach is believed to be due to the killing of a 2019 Simple City member where the victim was accused of perpetrating. Mason and Roach had previously met inside the juvenile detention center.
Mason became the suspect of the crimes after an alleged victim came to police to report the man they thought to be the gunman. Police officers then used facial recognition to identify the man as Mason.
Authorities linked the suspect and the crimes with a .40-caliber gun, which detectives believe he tried to sell after the murders.
Mason, however, denies all of the allegations and connections to the killings. Local authorities have put up a $25,000 reward for anyone who can provide information that could assist with their investigations of the case.
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