LONGMONT, Colo. — A drive-by shooting that killed a 13-year-old boy and injured his 15-year-old cousin near a Longmont basketball court Saturday afternoon happened after a gang dispute at a nearby fairgrounds, according to the arrest affidavit in the case.
The victim who died was identified by his family as 13-year-old Zay. His 15-year-old cousin was shot in the leg, while a third boy was not injured in the shooting at Kensington Park.
Zay's father told 9NEWS his son had just finished his first week of high school. He said Zay's 14th birthday would have been Aug. 30.
One of the victims told Longmont Police that a man in a silver-colored vehicle drove slowly on Kensington Street, leaned out the open passenger window and pointed a gun. The driver began shooting. The boys tried to run, but two of them were struck, the affidavit says.
The driver, who was the only person in the vehicle, left the area. Police stopped the vehicle about six minutes after the shooting near 2nd Avenue and Pratt Street and detained the driver, Yahir Solis, 19.
A Longmont officer found a shell casing or live round in the vehicle. A handgun was later found wedged between the driver's seat and the center console, and a backpack in the vehicle had a baggie holding what appeared to be bullets, the affidavit says.
Officers found about 10 shell casings on the street near the intersection with Kensington and St. Clair Avenue. One bullet hit the door of a townhouse on East Longs Peak Avenue.
The shooting happened after an altercation between two gangs at the Boulder County Fairgrounds, according to the affidavit.
Since the altercation, members of one gang had been sending threats via Instagram. A screenshot of one of those posts showed a person whom police later identified as Solis, according to the affidavit.
It's unclear whether the teens were the intended targets in the shooting.
Solis, who had two outstanding warrants, was arrested on suspicion of:
- First-degree murder
- Attempted first-degree murder
Anyone who witnessed the shooting or has any surveillance video from the area can contact the Longmont Public Safety tip line at 303-774-3700 and reference Longmont #22-7223.
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