KEY POINTS

  • Camran Kashawn Collier was a boxer and a member of the US Marine Corps Reserve
  • He was found dead in the driver seat of his car on April 22
  • A 16-year-old boy was arrested for his murder
  • The identity of the accused, who has an extensive criminal record, has been withheld

A 16-year-old boy has been taken into custody in connection with the murder of a 19-year-old junior Olympic boxer.

The juvenile suspect went into hiding after the April 22 murder of Camran Kashawn Collier, a boxer and a member of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, Dallas police said as per Dallas News.

The suspect, who has not been publicly identified, has an extensive criminal record and had been fitted with an electronic leg monitoring device. However, he had it removed in early April, before the murder, hindering efforts by the Dallas County Juvenile Probation to monitor his whereabouts.

He was arrested Wednesday evening from the Pleasant Grove area of Dallas. He was armed with a handgun when authorities found him.

The arrest caps a two-week extensive search by DeSoto and neighboring police departments. Police are withholding more information as the suspect is a juvenile.

Camran was found dead with a gunshot wound in the driver's seat of his Honda Accord on April 22 around 5 p.m. Police suspected that the murder had taken place during a robbery.

Witnesses told police about a "male passenger who got out of the vehicle moments after the shooting and left the area on foot," NBC 5 said in a report.

Camran, who had reached the national Junior Olympics twice, just completed boot camp with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve prior to his death.

Three days after the murder, Norman Christopher Collier IV, Camran's brother, fatally shot another man whom he had mistakenly identified as Camran's killer.

The incident took place during a balloon release ceremony held on Eagle Drive to celebrate the junior Olympic boxer's life. Norman reportedly walked up to 20-year-old Kolby Marquise Graham, who was taking part in the ceremony, and shot him in the head.

Graham died at a hospital several days later. Although there were several witnesses in the shooting, none of them came forward.

Police later found out that Norman had murdered Graham after he had "mistakenly identified as Camran's killer on several social media postings." Norman was arrested later and charged with capital murder.

Following the incident, DeSoto police urged citizens to use "caution and common sense when posting information to social media."

Meanwhile, Graham's relatives spoke about how close Camran and Graham had been. They also expressed anger at how "it happened to an innocent kid."

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Representational image Pixabay
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