GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A suspect in the deadly shooting of a 15-year-old girl from May has been arrested.
Josiah Pittman will face charges in connection to the death of La'Kyijah Williams from May 18.
Kent County Prosecutor Christopher Becker and Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom announced the arrest and charges during a joint press conference Monday.
"This was a horrible event," said Becker. "It's just not a random act of violence. There was a target. Unfortunately, Miss Williams was not the target. She was just downtown, minding her own business and got hit in a tragic set of circumstances here, and we feel horrible for our family and what they've gone through after this."
Both Becker and Winstrom would not say who the target was, but they said La'Kyijah was not even with the person who was the target of the shooting.
Pittman faces one count of second-degree murder and one count of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. If convicted he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
The shooting in May happened near Studio Park in downtown Grand Rapids. La'Kyijah was riding a scooter with a group of friends in an alleyway when Pittman opened fire, court documents show.
According to witness testimony and video surveillance Pittman reportedly pulled a gun from his waistband and fired into the group Williams was with four times. Williams was shot in the back of the head.
Chief Winstrom said the murder was difficult to investigate.
"When that incident happens outside in public, it gets more complicated," said Winstrom. "When you throw in the fact that this murder happened in downtown Grand Rapids with numerous people around. I responded to the scene that night, and even late into the night, two, three in the morning, there were dozens of people going by on scooters, on foot, on cars. So just the volume of people to interview is extensive, the volume of businesses to visit, the volumes of possibilities for where there could be surveillance video or other evidence. So this was an extremely heavy lift, logistically."
Pittman, who is 18, was arraigned Monday afternoon. He remains in police custody with no bond.
Loved ones called La'Kyijah's death unbelievable just days after the shooting.
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Information in the case has been hard to come by. During the press conference Monday, Prosecutor Becker said his office used investigative subpoenas to compel witnesses to speak with investigators.
Grand Rapids police in July asked for the public's help identifying potential witnesses, releasing video of 5 young people running from the area of the shooting.
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Both Winstrom and Becker say the arrest of Pittman is a small example of the results for the efforts to reduce crime in the city.
"It's difficult to talk about a decrease in crime when there's a name for every murder victim in this case," said Winstrom. "That name is La'Kyijah."
Pittman was denied bond by a judge when he was arraigned on charges of second degree murder on Monday.
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