This article was updated at 11:52 a.m. to add the GoFundMe for the victim. Updated May 30 at 10:16 to correct the District Judge Holly D. Reed’s gender.
The 16-year-old from Gaithersburg who was charged with murder in a fatal shooting this month inside the Wheaton Metro station will be tried as an adult and is being held without bond at an adult detention facility.
Tenneson Vaughn Leslie Jr., 18, of Greenbelt was critically injured in the shooting May 18 and died overnight.
A GoFundMe has been set up to cover the expenses for Leslie’s funeral, with a goal of $10,000.
The Gaithersburg teen was charged with second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, first-degree assault, reckless endangerment and possession of a loaded handgun, a news release said.
During the preliminary hearing Thursday at District Court in Rockville, a public defender said the 16-year-old was a 10th grader at Magruder High School. The attorney strongly objected to him being placed in an adult facility and instead requested he be placed at a juvenile facility or on house arrest with his mother and siblings. They added that incarceration would disrupt his schooling and cause him to drop out of high school.
No family members or friends of his were present in the court room.
Prosecutors from the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office said the incident was caught on WMATA surveillance cameras, which showed that Leslie was running away when he was shot in the head.
The State’s Attorney’s Office recommended the teen be held in an adult facility with reasoning that he may be a risk to himself and to others.
District Judge Holly D. Reed said this case is an example of the “sad state of affairs” of violence in the region and said he believed the teen is a danger to the community.
The violence at the Metro station began when a fight between two groups of teen boys erupted on the station escalator, a news release said. The altercation escalated and the 16-year-old pulled out a handgun and shot Leslie, then boarded a train and left the scene, police allege.
When police responded to the Wheaton Metro station, they found Leslie suffering from a gunshot wound. He was transported to a hospital in critical condition and later pronounced dead.
A search followed that included Metro Transit Police and a helicopter. Investigators identified the teen and obtained a warrant for his arrest. He was arrested at home and taken to the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit.
A 14-year-old has also been arrested and is being charged with accessory after the fact.
MoCo360 generally does not identify juveniles accused of crimes.
Wheaton residents expressed fear earlier this year following a spate of carjackings and shootings near the Westfield Mall.
One resident told MoCo360 on May 19, “I’m not so sure Wheaton is necessarily a safe place right now. I will definitely be more cautious about being out past 10 o’clock. You never know what could happen.”