The vigilante responsible for the death of 13-year-old Karon Blake is in police custody after turning himself in on Tuesday morning.
According to an NBC News report, Jason Lewis is the Washington, D.C., employee involved in the fatal shooting of the middle school student and has been charged with second-degree murder.
As Blavity noted, Blake was shot multiple times not far from Brookland Middle School, where he attended, in the early hours of Jan. 4.
Lewis claimed he confronted Blake because he believed the teenager was breaking into cars in his neighborhood. As police arrived, the man performed CPR, but the 13-year-old died from his injuries. The Metropolitan Police Department shared that Lewis has cooperated with authorities throughout the investigation.
Attorney Lee Smith, who Lewis retained, made a statement claiming his innocence and that when the court hears the case, it will see that his client’s intention was never to take Blake’s life.
NBC Washington reports that according to court documents, Blake yelled, “I’m only a kid,” “I’m sorry,” and “I am only 12” before Lewis shot him.
This incident sparked outrage from area residents because they believe the confrontation shouldn’t have resulted in someone losing their life as material things like cars have no heartbeat. Residents were also upset because police did not immediately identify Lewis.
Shortly after the incident gained nationwide attention Police Chief Robert J. Contee III said the incident was unfortunate.
“We have a 13-year-old that died, and we don’t have all of the facts,” Contee told NBC News. “And the people who are responsible for gathering the facts and making charging decisions are doing it just as fast as possible.”
