A 16-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl have been charged with murder in connection with the killings of five members of an Illinois family who were shot at three different locations, according to the St Clair County prosecutor's office.
Charges and Court Proceedings
The 16-year-old boy, identified as Ja'ymeir Davis, will be prosecuted as an adult. He faces murder charges and seven other crimes. The case against the 15-year-old girl will begin in juvenile court before a possible transfer to the St Clair County criminal court. It was not immediately known whether Davis had a lawyer who could comment on the allegations. A court hearing is pending.
Details of the Shooting
Five people were killed and two more were wounded, primarily on Sunday, in what police described as a "targeted mass shooting" in East St Louis, an Illinois city across the Mississippi River from St Louis. Troopers stopped a vehicle and arrested the teens Sunday in a state park, according to Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly.
Court documents do not reveal a motive. However, Marcus May, the father of the 15-year-old girl, told the St Louis Post-Dispatch that the girl was upset with family members and plotted the attacks with Davis, her boyfriend. May said he lost a nephew, two stepchildren, his mother, and a sister, with ages ranging from 21 to 74.
Timeline of the Attacks
The shootings mostly occurred over the weekend, but one victim who died, May's sister Cherie May, was shot days earlier, according to a court filing. The attacks took place at three different locations, and authorities have not released further details about the scenes.
