A mother turned in her 12-year-old son to authorities for his involvement as a suspect in a carjacking of an off-duty federal security officer in Washington, D.C., that resulted in the fatal shooting of his 13-year-old alleged accomplice.
The young boy, whose identity has not been revealed, is being held at the Youth Services Center juvenile facility. He is due back in court Nov. 6, Daily Mail reported.
His mother contacted police on Oct. 31 after recognizing her son in a photograph. According to the outlet, the 12-year-old was caught on a surveillance video approaching the front of the officer’s car while his barely teenage alleged accomplice, Vernard Toney Jr., opened the passenger door and got in the vehicle. The unidentified boy opened the door on the driver’s side of the car and said, according to the off-duty officer occupying the vehicle, “Get the [expletive] out. You know what this is.” The outlet reported that the officer opened fire and shot and killed Toney after one of the juveniles gestured at his hand in his pocket, suggesting that he had a gun.
The 12-year-old has a history of anger management and behavior issues and apparently started smoking marijuana at the age of 11, the outlet noted. The boy reportedly told authorities after his arrest that he knew where to go to get a gun. He also shared that he hangs around a rough crowd.
The mother who reported her son said that she’d tried to prevent a similar incident from happening earlier and that she had sought help from places including a local hospital for her son’s behavioral issues.
Thirteen-year-old Toney was described by his principal as having a “natural comedic ability … especially when he would joke that he was the principal of Kelly Miller MS. Vernard [Toney] also loved to play basketball and spend his free time on the court with his friends.”
Toney was also known to the Metropolitan Police Department, Daily Mail noted.
RELATED CONTENT: Houston Teen Arrested After Video Showing Assault Of Strangers In Park Goes Viral