Washington, D.C., employee charged with second-degree murder in shooting death of 13-year-old Karon Blake - NBC News

A Washington, D.C., worker was charged with second-degree execution successful transportation with the fatal shooting of a 13-year-old boy, constabulary said Tuesday.

Jason Lewis, 41, surrendered to constabulary Tuesday greeting and was taken into custody, Metropolitan Police Chief Robert J. Contee III said astatine a quality league Tuesday morning.

Lewis was charged with second-degree execution portion equipped pursuing an probe and presumption of the lawsuit to a expansive jury, Contee said. The charges travel astir 3 weeks aft constabulary said a antheral changeable and killed Karon Blake, a mediate schoolhouse student, astatine astir 4 a.m. connected Jan. 7 after the antheral believed that idiosyncratic was tampering with vehicles.

Police gave caller details Tuesday astir what occurred during the aboriginal greeting shooting. Lewis, Contee said, stepped extracurricular his doorway but remained connected his property, firing archetypal astatine a “getaway conveyance that was parked nearby.” Contee said that Karon “and different idiosyncratic who was unidentified began to run, astatine immoderate constituent Karon ran toward Mr. Lewis and Mr. Lewis fired a shot, striking Karon and sidesplitting him.”

Authorities antecedently said a antheral near his location with a registered firearm, got into "an interaction" with Karon, and fired his weapon, sidesplitting the teenager. Contee said Tuesday that determination was "no confrontation" betwixt Lewis and Karon earlier the teen was shot.

Contee said Tuesday that it appeared Karon was trying to marque his mode backmost to the getaway vehicle, but the car reversed into an alley and crashed, and Karon ran successful a absorption toward Lewis. He said helium did not cognize if Karon knew wherever Lewis was standing.

Two different juveniles who were seen moving from the country person not yet been identified. Contee asked for them to travel forward.

“Anytime we person a nonaccomplishment of life, particularly that of a child, that’s thing that truly conscionable pierces my soul, to beryllium rather honorable with you,” Contee said. “Here we person a kid who is dormant who shouldn’t be. 

“This young antheral shouldn’t beryllium dead. But, helium is, and present again we person to spell done the people of the judicial process,” helium said.

An lawyer for Lewis said his lawsuit maintains his innocence.

“While this is surely a tragedy, erstwhile each the facts are heard, I judge that a assemblage volition find that determination was nary transgression here,” lawyer Lee Smith said. “Mr. Lewis has dedicated his vocation to mentoring and supporting younker successful the District of Columbia, which lone adds to however distraught helium is implicit the decease of Karon Blake. Mr. Lewis and his household connection heartfelt condolences to Karon’s household and different loved ones.”

The shooting outraged the community as residents pressed the constabulary for answers earlier Tuesday's announcement of charges. Many said that alleged tampering with worldly spot should not effect successful a idiosyncratic being killed.

"Property is not greater than life. Karon should beryllium live today," councilmember Christina Henderson tweeted. Ward 5 councilmember Zachary Parker said successful a statement that helium was "outraged by Karon’s killing."

"No car oregon worldly possession is worthy a beingness — nether immoderate circumstances," helium said. 

Karon, of Northeast Washington, was a pupil astatine Brookland Middle School. The school’s principal, Kerry Richardson, said successful a enactment to the school’s staff, obtained by NBC Washington, that helium was a "quiet and inquisitive student who loved manner and football."

"Although helium loved his neighborhood, helium loved Brookland MS (the module & his peers) and the operation it presented to him adjacent more," Richardson wrote.

The teen's gramps said he's grieving that Karon ne'er got a accidental to turn up.

"He’s excessively young — 13 years old," Sean Long antecedently told NBC News. "That’s what’s sidesplitting me, he’s a baby."