Suspect, 16, held after 2nd teen is fatally shot

A 16-year-old boy is accused of shooting another teen to death Thursday afternoon near a Lamar ISD elementary school in Richmond, according to authorities.

The slain teen — whom authorities identified as a George Ranch High School student — was shot just before 3 p.m. in a small park in the 400 block of Macek Road, around the corner from Velasquez Elementary School, where students are slated to return to classes Monday.

At least one gunshot was overheard by neighbors and prompted three 911 calls. Deputies soon found the boy, also 16, bleeding in the middle of a fenced-in park with a swingset and slide, Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Major Chad Norvell tweeted.

The boy later died at a nearby hospital, Norvell said.

The suspected shooter was not publicly identified, but Norvell said he has had prior run-ins with the law. He was apprehended at his family’s home near the park after a Crime Stoppers tip pointed him out to investigators.

“The suspect was posting some strange things on Snapchat,” Norvell said. “And then we received a Crime Stoppers tip.”

Police are not yet sure what prompted the shooting and are unable to speak to the suspect until he is magistrated before a judge at the Fort Bend County Justice Center.

The sheriff’s office later said he was charged with murder.

The boy’s father is cooperating with police as investigators prepare a search warrant to enter their home, Norvell said.

The suspect and slain child are believed to have known each other, Norvell continued.