Baltimore, Maryland
A bus stop in Baltimore, Maryland on Aug. 12, 2008. Reuters/Shannon Stapleton

KEY POINTS

  • Police arrested 18-year-old Tyrique Sevin Radford El in relation to the shooting
  • 16-year-old Temario Stokes Jr. died after being shot multiple times
  • The shooting led to the temporary lockdown of schools in Greenwood and Whiteland

The Greenwood Police Department in Indiana has announced the arrest of an 18-year-old teen who is linked to the fatal shooting of a sophomore student of the Whiteland Community High School Thursday morning. The student was shot and killed at a bus stop in the area.

Police said Tyrique Sevin Radford El was arrested Thursday evening and is faced with a preliminary charge of murder, local WTTV reported. According to the outlet, authorities deployed helicopters and drones in the search for a suspect in the deadly shooting of 16-year-old Temario Stokes Jr. after 6 a.m.

The search continued through 4 p.m. until the suspect was arrested but the shooter's name was not released at that time. The Johnson County Sheriff's Department later confirmed the identity of the arrested suspect as Radford El.

No further details were provided on the circumstances leading to Radford El's arrest. The police released a mug shot of Radford El.

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Witnesses who were at the bus stop in the Winterwood Drive and Providence Drive area told police that Stokes Jr. was waiting at the bus stop when an individual wearing a black hoodie approached and shot the victim multiple times, local WANE 15 reported. A few other students were also present at the bus stop when the shooting took place, but no one else was injured.

The shooting led to the temporary lockdown of schools around the area in Greenwood and Whiteland, including Greenwood Christian Academy and Greenwood Community High School.

Hours after Stokes Jr. was shot and killed, his mother, Tiera Ervin, told reporters that her son's death "took my heart away from me," WXIN reported. Ervin described Stokes Jr. as "an outgoing person" and someone who "would give people the shirt off his back."

Temario Stokes Sr., the victim's father, also told reporters that his son planned to establish a landscaping company in the future. "All kids make bad decisions at one time, but he wasn't a bad kid. He didn't deserve this," Stokes Sr. said of his son.

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Patrick Spray, Superintendent of Clark-Pleasant Schools, said in a statement that it was "a sad day for the Clark-Pleasant school community," The Indianapolis Star daily reported. Spray added that the Community School Corporation will provide mental health and grief counselors "to help students deal with this tragic incident as needed."