15-year-old Lakyi-jah Williams was riding a scooter with friends near Studio Park in downtown Grand Rapids on May 18 around 11:30 pm when she was killed by gunfire.
Monday Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker announced 18-year-old Josiah Tyree Pittman has been charged with second degree murder and a felony weapons charge in her death.
“This was not a random act of violence. There was a target…Miss Williams was not the target. She was downtown minding her own business and got hit in a tragic set of circumstances here.”
Police Chief Eric Winstrom thanked the detectives that spent months on the case, interviewing the many witnesses from the crowded downtown streets willing to help.
“Absolutely heartbreaking. Absolutely tragic. Absolutely avoidable. I want to thank the community who really came together to recognize that we are not going to be the city that tolerates one of our children getting murdered and not following through.”
Pittman faces up to life in prison if convicted on the charges.
