Detectives from Erie Police think that a fight at Erie High School on Tuesday led to a fight at West 31st and Liberty streets that afternoon, where shots were fired at a group of people, killing one 17-year-old boy and seriously hurting another.
Two teens from the city were charged with criminal homicide and first-degree murder on Thursday after police said they were involved in the killing.
Records show that 17-year-old Jahmeir O. Bibbs and 18-year-old Martavion C. Thompson were arrested on Wednesday afternoon and were tried by Erie 3rd Ward District Judge Alison Scarpitti on Thursday morning. They are both being held without a bond.
Bibbs was charged under the Fisher Bill, which is a state law that lets kids who are accused of serious crimes be charged as adults.
Two people are being charged with their part in a shooting that happened at West 31st and Liberty streets on Tuesday at 3:55 p.m. and killed 17-year-old Armoni Cantu and seriously hurt another teen.
Cantu was shot in the chest and died. His death was ruled a murder by Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook on Wednesday. Police and criminal charges say that the other 17-year-old, whose name was not given, was shot in the face and taken to a hospital in Pittsburgh.
It’s the 11th murder in Erie County and the 5th in Erie itself this year.
Thursday, police said they are still looking into the shooting and that more arrests could happen as the case goes on.
What did the shooting happen?
When police arrived at the scene of the killing after it was reported, they saw bullet holes and blood in the street. According to the affidavits that were filed with the complaints against Bibbs and Thompson, they also learned that Erie School District police saw a red Chrysler 200 speeding away from the scene of the shooting and kept an eye on it until they stopped it and its six people in the 3500 block of Peach Street.
While they were on their way to the shooting scene, police also heard that two teens had been shot and taken to Saint Vincent Hospital. The hospital said Cantu was dead at 4:47 p.m. on Tuesday, according to Cook.
Based on the information in the statements, investigators said they found that the shooting happened outside of a house on the northwest corner of West 31st and Liberty streets. The victims and other people who were shot went inside the house.
Someone told the cops that he drove the two victims to Saint Vincent. The witness’s car was found on a nearby street by the police. Detectives wrote in the documents that the back window was broken and that there was blood inside the car. They also saw what looked like a bullet hole in the back passenger seat headrest.
Police wrote that they saw on security video that the Chrysler 200 was parked next to a black Jeep in the 800 block of West 31st Street before the shots were fired. After that, a red Ford Fusion pulled up next to the two parked cars and stayed there until gunshots were heard. A group of people standing next to the cars ran away, and the Ford drove off, according to the statements.
Detectives wrote that more security video showed the person in the back seat of the Ford Fusion firing several rounds into the crowd after the car stopped near the parked cars.
The Ford Fusion was later found on Poplar Street, with broken windows in the back and on the driver’s side. Police say that spent shell rounds were found inside the car.
Why did the person shoot?
According to what the investigators wrote, the shooting is likely related to a fight between “two identifiable groups within the City of Erie.” They learned this through interviews and other proof and information.
According to the affidavits, the killing almost certainly happened after an argument between two people at Erie High School earlier that same day. Detectives wrote that they looked at video from the school that showed the fight.
As part of their investigation into the killing, Erie police gathered a lot of physical evidence, some of which came from search warrants, Deputy Chief Rick Lorah said Thursday. While Lorah wouldn’t say what proof was gathered, she did say that some of it would be sent out to be tested.
“Once more, it looks like two groups are going after each other,” Lorah said about the shooting. “We made arrests swiftly thanks to the hard work of patrol officers at the scene and detectives afterward.”
“This type of violence won’t be tolerated,” he said.
