Suspect Charged In Shooting That Killed Teenage Girl In East Flatbush
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police said a suspect was in custody and had been charged Thursday in the shooting that killed a 16-year-old girl in her Brooklyn home.
The suspect surrendered to police Thursday night, not long after police identified him and released new surveillance video in the case, CBS2's Sonia Rincon reported.
Taariq Stephens, 24, of Brooklyn has been charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
As CBS2's Hazel Sanchez reported, police said the new video eliminated any doubt that the slaying of Shemel Mercurius in East Flatbush this past Tuesday evening was a random crime.
Police said the video starts with the Stephens riding up the elevator in the building on Brooklyn Avenue where Mercurius lived. Police have edited the video, but it does show the apartment door slamming and the gunman with an automatic weapon.
Inside, Mercurius was shot as she babysat her 3-year-old cousin just before 6 p.m. Tuesday. She was pronounced dead at Kings County Hospital Center.
Police believe the weapon involved in the shooting was a .40-caliber semiautomatic.
"He racks three times, so we get three full rounds outside in the hallway. He shoots her one time that goes through her arm and into her body, that causes her demise later on at the hospital," said NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce.
Police said Mercurius implicated Stephens -- who lives in the same apartment complex -- as she was dying.
At first, investigators thought the two were dating, but based on texts from the victim's phone, they no longer believe that was the case.
Stephens has six prior arrests, and four of them are sealed.
