Boy, 15, charged in fatal Kent shooting apparently tied to gang rivalry
A 15-year-old boy seemingly had no idea a SWAT team was waiting in a stairwell of a Skyway apartment building to arrest him last week when he walked out of a third-floor unit and was taken into custody with a loaded .45-caliber handgun in his waistband, according to King County prosecutors.
The Valley SWAT team was at the Taylor Creek apartments on June 18 to arrest the boy on a warrant for a juvenile absconding while on parole based on a second-degree assault conviction - but he's since been charged with far more serious crimes, including premeditated first-degree murder.
He is accused of fatally shooting a 16-year-old girl in Kent on June 3 while apparently targeting a gang rival, according to charges filed Wednesday. He is also charged with four counts of first-degree assault for allegedly shooting at four other teens, two counts of unlawful firearm possession and one count of unlawful possession of a machine gun part.
The latter charge is based on the fact the .45-caliber handgun found in his waistband was modified with a "Glock switch," converting the weapon from a semiautomatic to fully automatic with a single squeeze of the trigger, charging papers say.
King County prosecutors also filed a motion Wednesday seeking what is known as a discretionary decline hearing, so a judge can determine whether to keep the case in juvenile court or decline jurisdiction and have the case moved to adult court.
The hearing is like a mini trial into a juvenile respondent's background and it can take months or years after a crime is allegedly committed before one is held. As an example, a judge on Monday scheduled a decline hearing in early September for a Fall City boy who was 15 when he is accused of killing five family members in their home in October 2024.
The shooting
Kent police officers responded to a report of a shooting at the Park Place apartments in the 1400 block of Maple Lane just after 4:20 a.m. on June 3 and found an unconscious girl between two cars in the gravel parking lot of the apartment building next door, say the murder and assault charges filed this week against the 15-year-old boy.
The girl died at the scene.
The King County medical examiner's office later identified her as 16-year-old Nyeruon Deng Biel and determined she died from a gunshot wound to the torso. Her death was ruled a homicide.
During the police investigation, detectives learned Biel was one of seven teenage girls hanging out together at a residence at the Park Place apartments. The suspected shooter, who was staying in a different apartment with his mother, was also at the gathering.
One of the girls contacted three teenage boys to come over for a date with her and her friends. Knowing that one of the boys was in a rival gang, the group told the 15-year-old boy to leave "so there would not be trouble between the two of them," charging papers say.
The three boys arrived at the complex at 4:15 a.m. in a red Ford Fusion and four of the girls - including Biel - went out to meet them. A passenger got out of the car, met the girls in the parking lot, and was walking back to the vehicle with them when gunshots rang out and the group scattered, running in different directions, the charges say.
One of the girls found Biel on the ground and ran back to her friend's apartment to call 911.
Video surveillance reportedly captured the shooting with sound and showed that about eight shots were fired before Biel collapsed behind the Fusion. The video also showed the boy who got out of the car fired two rounds in an unknown direction, according to charges.
Other footage captured muzzle flashes and placed the shooter near a trail next to the Green River, the charges say.
One of the girls who stayed behind when her friends went to meet the three boys later told police the 15-year-old was armed, "appeared upset" about the date, and said something like he was going to shoot one of the boys, according to the charges. That girl saw the 15-year-old climb a hill on the elevated levee next to the river and get into position before firing in the direction of the Fusion, the charges say.
Police later found four spent 9-mm cartridge casings near the Green River Trail, the others apparently lost in the dense foliage, according to the charges.
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This story was originally published June 25, 2026 at 4:50 PM.