BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo police say a 19-year-old man has been charged with murder and burglary in connection with the shooting death of a 17-year-old girl on Koons Avenue.
The girl was killed in a double shooting on Koons Avenue, Tuesday afternoon.
"A girl, 17-years-old, lost her life in that. She was not necessarily the target. It just kind of speaks to the mayhem that gun violence creates in our community," Pastor James Giles, the president and CEO of Back to Basics Outreach Ministries, said, "The boy, we're told, was hit in the face. He's recovering in the hospital. We don't know how that's going to turn out. The parents of this young child are devastated. At 17-years-old, she didn't get the chance to graduate, didn't get the chance to live."
The Erie County District Attorney's Office says Vincent Manirakiza of Buffalo was arraigned Wednesday morning in connection with the shooting.
"Quick work by detectives, by officers, cooperation throughout the investigation, city video camera assisted in the investigation. A lot of things came into play that made this come together quickly," Buffalo Police Deputy Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said.
Manirakiza was charged with one count of Murder in the Second Degree and one count of Burglary in the Second Degree.
Buffalo police investigators say they are searching for a second suspect and the investigation is ongoing.
"Listen, we can stop this if we start working at it. If you all that are seeing this, if you all that are aware of this, begin to start saying something, we will actually begin to stop this. Individuals will be less likely to go in broad daylight, no matter who's around, and they're going to take another person's life," Pastor Giles said.
Anti-violence groups said this shooting cost one young life and changed two others forever.
"They are our future. They matter to us. We'd rather go to their high school graduation than their sentencing day in court. We'd rather go to their wedding than their funeral. We'd rather take them to christen their child than taking their child somewhere to visit them up in the mountains in the state penitentiary," Pastor Kenneth Simmons, a leader of MAD DADS of Buffalo, said.
Investigators did not release the name of the girl who was killed.
