Greenwood police say a minor dispute led to deadly bus stop shooting
GREENWOOD, Ind. (WISH) — One person has been arrested and another questioned in the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old while he was walking to the bus stop Thursday morning. The arrest has done little to comfort the victim’s family and friends.
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Three of Temario Stokes relatives came to hear the latest on the investigation. They left the building without saying a word.
Greenwood police said the suspect Tyrique Radford El, 18, and the victim, Tamario Stokes, hadn’t known each other all that long. Police say that Radford El walked to the bus stop and intentionally shot Stokes several times. A few hours later police found him running near a corn field.
“Just a few feet from the cornfield was the backyard of the home he was walking towards. Why he was dirty and wet is [something that] one can only assume at this point” Greenwood Police Chief, James Ison said.
Divers from the Greenwood Fire Department were spotted searching a retention pond located about a block away from the shooting scene. Police have not confirmed whether they found a gun or any other evidence during that search.
Police say that Radford El offered a statement last night that led to the search of two homes, and the questioning of a friend. They aren’t saying why he pulled the trigger, other than the two had some type of a minor disagreement. Greenwood Police Chief James Ison says this type of youth violence is spreading into the suburbs and parents need to take an active role in the lives of the children.
“Teach them the value of life and the consequences for their actions. Teach them appropriate conflict resolution and that violence is never the answer” Ison said.
Most of the morning, Tamario Stokes senior stood just a few yards from the corner where his son was murdered. Over the course of the last 24 hours, a steady stream of family and friends have come to share their memories of the younger Stokes. In March of this year, News 8 interviewed Temario Stokes at a program called “New Boy.” His father told News 8 he has that video saved on his laptop and has been watching it a lot today. He declined to say much more than that.
Police are not ruling out that there may be others involved, and have turned the case over to the prosecutor’s office.