SEATTLE — A 15-year-old boy who is accused of killing two students near Rainier Beach High School in January was under court supervision for a prior case involving a firearm at the time of the murders, court records show.
Seattle police arrested the teen suspect, who KOMO News is not naming, on Tuesday at his home in Renton.
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Records show he will turn 16 on Thursday.
At a first appearance hearing on Wednesday, the teen did not come into the courtroom as prosecutors argued to keep him in secure detention while they review the case.
Judge Tanya Thorpe ordered the teen held in custody and found there is probable cause for two counts of murder in the first degree and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm.
On Jan. 30, 18-year-old Tyjon Malik Stewart and 17-year-old Traveiah Houfmuse were shot and killed at the doors of a Metro bus on South Henderson Street near Rainier Avenue South, just a short distance from nearby Rainier Beach High School.
Police began collecting surveillance videos, which showed the shooter was on a bus and then ambushed the teens when the bus stopped.
While the cameras on the Metro bus where the shooting happened were malfunctioning at the time, another Metro bus was approaching the same bus stop and recorded the shooting on a front-facing camera, according to an arrest report.
From there, police tracked the shooter’s movements through surveillance cameras on the nearby school grounds, a tiny home village, and other buildings.
Minutes after the attack, police allege the camera of a nearby home recorded the teen after he had removed a black mask he was wearing at the time of the shooting.
According to the arrest report, an anonymous tip identified the shooter a few days after the killings.
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Investigators learned the 15-year-old was still under court supervision for a prior case involving a shooting in Renton last summer. In that case, court records show police detained the teen while responding to a report of shots fired at Gene Coulon Park.
During a stop-and-frisk search, police found a 9mm handgun on the teen. In an agreement with prosecutors, the teen agreed to court supervision for at least nine months to defer prosecution.
Seattle police investigators looking into the Rainier Beach High School students contacted a school safety officer at the teen’s school in Renton to see if he recognized the person from the surveillance videos around the time of the shooting.
The officer confirmed the teen’s identity. School records show the teen was out of school for the entire week after the shooting, and has since stopped taking the bus to school.
Seattle police also allege they obtained warrants for the teen’s phone that show it was connected to cell towers near Rainier Beach High School at the time of the shooting.
King County prosecutors are currently reviewing the case and have until Friday to file charges. If charges are filed, the teen is expected to appear in court Monday afternoon.
