PATCH: A 17-year-old Glenarden teen has been arrested in connection to the fatal shooting of a DuVal High School student that happened outside the school in Lanham. The suspect attended Charles Herbert Flowers High School, which is located about five miles south of DuVal High.
On Sept. 11 around 3:45 p.m., Prince George’s police officers were called to the school for a report of a shooting. They found 16-year-old Jayda Medrano-Moore of Greenbelt outside with a gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead a short time later at the hospital.
“It shouldn’t have happened, and it didn’t have to happen,” Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said at a news conference Friday afternoon.
The shooter opened fire after “some type of petty beef” between groups of young people, Prince George’s Chief of Police Malik Aziz told NBC Washington. Medrano-Moore was with her brother at the time.
“She stepped in between that when a gun was produced,” he said. “[…] The person with a gun at a fight shot and killed her.”
According to charging documents, investigators say the teen accused of killing Medrano-Moore told a friend the two were fighting over a gun when it went off and that he didn’t mean to shoot her. After Medrano-Moore was shot, DuVal High and nearby Robert Goddard Montessori School were locked down for hours.
During the course of the investigation, along with anonymous tips provided to Prince George’s County Crime Solvers, detectives identified and arrested the teenage suspect Thursday night. The preliminary investigation indicates that Medrano-Moore was walking along Palamar Drive after leaving school when a fight broke out between two groups who were involved in an ongoing dispute. During the fight, the teenage suspect pulled out a gun. Detectives believe Medrano-Moore attempted to intervene when she was fatally shot, police reported.
According to her obituary, Medrano-Moore was a “humble, loving and kind young girl” who had a “bright future ahead of her with aspirations of becoming a WNBA player.”
Learning about the teen’s arrest was a “bittersweet moment,” Jayda’s aunt Wendy Liriano told NBC Washington.
“We lost our star, Jayda. And for the other family, they lost their child as well, being that he will spend the rest of his life behind bars,” she said.
“Jayda, we love you,” added Medrano-Moore’s father, Glendon Reid. “If you can hear us right now, we love you. One day we’re going to meet each other soon in heaven, and I’m just … we’re going to deeply miss her.”
A fundraiser has been created to help with the funeral expenses for Medrano-Moore. Reid set up the GoFundMe.
“(She was) loved by her coaches, fellow students, family and friends. She was so excited about turning 17 on Sept. 24,” Reid said. “My family and I are grieving her tragic death. We are so appreciative for any donations to help pay for funeral home expenses and burial. I am deeply saddened by my daughter’s loss and wished it was just a bad dream. May Jayda Medrano-Moore R.I.P.”
The teenage suspect has been charged with first- and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault and a firearms charge.
If anyone has additional information relevant to this investigation, they are asked to call detectives at 301-516-2512.
