Suspect Wanted In Shooting Death Of Delaware Valley Charter High School Student Turns Self In
By Walt Hunter, Tim Jimenez
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Only CBS 3 Eyewitness News cameras were there as an accused killer, wanted for the murder of a 15-year-old student walking home from school Monday afternoon in Olney, as well as the wounding of another teenager, turned himself in to homicide detectives at Police Headquarters.
The suspect, 19-year-old Darian Person, said little as he was questioned by CBS 3 reporter Walt Hunter, family members trying to shield Person from the camera.
The surrender came less than five hours after homicide detectives and SWAT teams began scouring the city for the suspect, searching his Nicetown home and other locations.
Captain James Clark, commander of the Homicide Unit, says Person opened fire as two groups of teenagers fought near the Olney Transportation Center, one bullet killing Aisha Rahman was she walked home from class at nearby Delaware Valley Charter High School with a girlfriend. Two other bullets allegedly fired by Person critically wounded a 19-year-old man.
Clark claimed Person was the "muscle" hired by one of two groups of feuding teenagers, a feud, he says, that accelerated from violent tweets and Facebook postings, to violence and murder.
At the crime scene, at the same time Person was surrendering, community leaders held a vigil calling for an end to the violence.
After being processed by homicide detectives, Person will be arraigned and, because one of the charges is murder, under state law, he will be denied bail, and remanded to prison to await trial.
Delaware Valley Charter High School issued a statement about the loss of Aisha Abdur Rhaman:
"We are deeply grieved by the loss of Aisha Abdur Rhaman, who was a tenth grade student at the Delaware Valley Charter High School. From what we understand, Aisha was killed by a stray bullet after school hours at a location off school property, making her another victim of the senseless violence with which this city has become all too familiar. Aisha was a bright, cheerful, and energetic young lady and will be deeply missed. Our prayers are with her family. We are offering grief counseling services to our students, teachers, and staff."
