Three teenagers are accused of killing a 13-year-old Seattle-area boy who met them at a park to try to sell a camera and some equipment.
Matthiew Stavkovy arrived with his sister and a friend trying to sell equipment at Turnkey Park in Kent, Washington, shortly before 9 p.m. on July 16 when, according to police, an unidentified teenager began firing a gun, wounding the boy as he tried to run away. KING 5 reports.
Faysal J. Abdullahi, 18, was later arrested and charged with first-degree murder and first-degree robbery, and is now being held on $2 million bail.
Two other teenagers, brothers ages 17 and 19, were also arrested at their home Thursday in connection with the fatal shooting.
The unidentified 19-year-old is now being held in jail on first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary charges as well, while his younger brother is being held in secure detention.
Matthiew Stavkovy, 13, was shot dead while trying to sell photography equipment.
Kent Police say Abdullahi, the only teenage suspect whose name has been released so far, arranged a meeting to buy camera equipment from a seller on the website OfferUp.
They agreed to meet at a local park, and Abdullahi later admitted to police that he had arranged the meeting and arrived at the park with two other people, according to a probable cause statement.
“The defendant staged an armed robbery that left a 13-year-old bystander dead and nearly shot his 15-year-old sister,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Thomas O’Ban wrote in charging documents. obtained by the Kent Reporter.
He added that Abdullahi also planned the access route to the park and had a getaway driver.
“Despite the defendant’s young age, this demonstrates a surprising amount of planning and forethought,” O’Ban wrote.
‘While the defendant himself may not have intended to kill any of the victims that night, he orchestrated and set in motion a chain of events that killed no one and could easily have killed others.’
Police say she arrived at Turnkey Park in Kent, Washington, with her sister and a friend who was trying to sell the camera shortly before 9 p.m. on July 16, when an unidentified gunman opened fire.
Prosecutors say wAs the vendor negotiated a price with Abdullahi, who used an alias, a suspect wearing a mask emerged from the park with a gun and began shooting.
At that point, Abdullahi allegedly snatched the vendor’s backpack full of camera equipment and pushed him to the ground.
The salesman later told police he heard three or four gunshots and ran for cover, while Stavkovy and his sister ran to their SUV to escape.
Matthiew was shot in the back and lost consciousness while driving the ATV, and his sister took over operation of the vehicle, taking it to a nearby apartment complex where several people called 911, police said.
Unfortunately, Matthiew died before he could be taken to a hospital.
Stavkovy was shot in the back as he tried to flee with his sister.
Law enforcement later identified Abdullahi as a suspect through the IP address he used to arrange the sale and arrested him outside a residence following surveillance last week.
Police said he had the camera bag from the sale at the time of his arrest.
During questioning, Abdullahi told detectives he arranged the meeting and arrived at the park with two other people, but claimed he did not know the masked gunman and that he was coming from another location in the park.
Mobile phone data later determined that Abdullahi was in the area of the brothers’ home before going to the park, and his mobile phone even connected to a Wi-Fi network under the brothers’ surname.
Detectives also found videos and photographs that allegedly show Abdullahi riding in the getaway car with the brothers on the day of the shooting.
Photos and video show the 19-year-old in possession of several handguns, KING 5 reports.
But the 19-year-old later blamed the shooting on his younger brother, who he said fired the first bullet.
He said his brother told him he opened fire “because he felt he was going to be run over by the quad bike the victim was driving,” according to police.
The brothers are expected to be formally charged in the coming days.
Friends and family remembered the 13-year-old on Sunday as a loving and intelligent person.
Meanwhile, friends and family gathered at Matthiew’s local church for a funeral service on Sunday, where they described the youngster as “caring” and intelligent.
“Matthiew had the kindest, gentlest and most humble heart,” his sister Inessa said in a eulogy. according to KOMO News.
Others said he loved to sing and was a devout Christian who had given his own sermons and was excited to join the youth choir in the fall.
‘Matthiew was an inspiration to all who knew him,’ says an online fundraiser for the boy’s grieving family.
“He loved nature, he took care of chickens, he gardened and he had a passion for fishing,” she said, noting that Matthiew was smart enough to skip eighth grade and was scheduled to start ninth grade in the fall.
‘He dedicated himself to serving the people at Bread of Life Church, from helping with construction to singing and playing instruments, and even delivering sermons from the pulpit.
‘The most important thing is that he loved the Lord with all his heart, and his conduct reflected that wherever he acted.’
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