San Francisco police have arrested an 18-year-old accused in the shooting of a 6-year old boy who was killed while outside enjoying fireworks on July 4.
Police said Thursday that officers arrested James Harbor of San Francisco after investigators identified him as a suspect in the shooting. Police did not provide a possible motive.
The arrest was made Wednesday in a neighborhood in western San Francisco, six months after the shooting of the child, Jace Young, prompted outrage and spurred calls for gun control and justice from Mayor London Breed and other city leaders.
No other details were released about the suspect, who was arrested across town from the scene of the shooting in the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood.
The Associated Press could not immediately determine whether an attorney is representing Harbor.
Jace’s family said the arrest is the first step to justice for the child, a young “bright star” and computer whiz who they described as intelligent and empathetic beyond his years, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
“An arrest is good, but this is just the beginning,” said Jace’s dad, Jason Young. “We still need to find out what happened on the Fourth of July for it to even mean anything,”
At a rally held for Jace days after the shooting, the mayor issued a heartfelt plea to stop gun violence.
“I want us to remember what this feels like,” Breed said. “Never forget how this hurts. How this tears at our hearts and our souls.”