BREAKING: 18-Year-Old Charged with Capital Murder in Friday Shooting
A suspect has been taken into custody and charged with the murder of a 13-year-old in West Tuscaloosa Friday night.
According to Captain Jack Kennedy, the commander of the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit, the incident occurred around 6:20 p.m. Friday on Washington Square in West Tuscaloosa. Tuscaloosa Police Officers responded to reports of a shooting, and upon arrival found the 13-year-old boy dead at the scene.
The victim, Kei'lan Allen, had been sitting in his room, playing on his iPad, when multiple gunshots were fired from a vehicle towards the house. Bullets came through the window, striking him in his head.
The Tuscaloosa VCU assumed the investigation and immediately began searching for persons of interest.
"It is believed that the suspect’s actual target was an older family member... Multiple rounds were fired from multiple firearms," Kennedy said. "Members of the VCU and Tuscaloosa Police have worked around the clock since Friday on this case."
Kennedy said that at this time, investigators believe the motive is either gang-related or stemming from past arguments with the intended target.
Warrants were obtained, and investigators took James Deanthony Reed, 18, into custody. He has been charged with Capital Murder and will be held in the Tuscaloosa County Jail without bond.
The VCU is made up of detectives from the Tuscaloosa Police Department, the Northport Police Department, the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office and the University of Alabama, and investigates all violent crimes, unnatural deaths and sex crimes in Tuscaloosa County.
"This investigation is not over, there are more persons involved and there will be more arrests in the future," Kennedy said.
Capital murder is the most serious charge available to prosecutors in Alabama. Suspects are held without bond until they go to trial, and if convicted of capital murder, the only two sentencing options available are life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.