16-year-old arrested, charged as adult in fatal Wheaton Metro shooting
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. - It took police nearly a week to capture the gunman who allegedly pulled the trigger inside the Wheaton Metro Station last week, killing 18-year-old Tenneson Vaughn Leslie, Jr.
A 16-year-old from Gaithersburg was arrested Wednesday and charged with murder in connection with Leslie Jr.'s murder.
Detectives from the Montgomery County Police Department believe that on May 18, Emmanuel Leonard Simmonds shot and killed Leslie, Jr. on the Metro train platform after a fight between two groups of friends broke out.
Shiera Goff, the director of public information for the Montgomery County Police Department, said the night of the shooting that the incident began with an altercation on the escalator.
The confrontation between the group on the top floor carried on to the platform where Simmonds allegedly shot Leslie, Jr. before police said he boarded a train and fled the scene.
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18-year-old dead in Wheaton Metro shooting, police investigating as homicide
Police have identified the 18-year-old who was shot and killed inside the Wheaton Metro Station Thursday as Tenneson Vaughn Leslie, Jr., of Greenbelt.
Later on that night, Leslie, Jr. succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital and was pronounced dead by officials.
The department said detectives were eventually able to identify Simmonds as the shooter and a warrant for his arrest was requested. He was arrested at his home in Gaithersburg and was taken into the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit in Rockville.
Simmonds is facing second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony charges. He is also charged with first-degree assault, reckless endangerment and possession of a loaded handgun.
Police said the 16-year-old has been charged as an adult in this murder.
A 14-year-old was also arrested, and is being charged with accessory after the fact, for his role in Leslie, Jr.'s death