What to Know
- Michael Banks, 30, and Damar Bashier Jones, 27, are both charged with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, tampering with evidence and other related offenses.
- The charges stem from the death of 7-year-old Zamar Jones who was shot while playing with his toys outside in Philadelphia over the weekend.
- Christopher Linder, 27, was also arrested for his alleged role in the shooting.
Two more suspects in the shooting death of a 7-year-old Philadelphia boy surrendered to police, investigators said.
Michael Banks, 30, surrendered to police on Wednesday while Damar Bashier Jones, 27, surrendered to police on Thursday, according to investigators. The two men, who are both from Philadelphia, are each charged with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, tampering with evidence and other related offenses.
The Philadelphia district attorney’s office announced earlier this week that 27-year-old Christopher Linder was also charged with attempted murder, aggravated and simple assault, reckless endangerment, weapons crimes and other counts in the shootout that killed the child, in an earlier alleged homicide attempt and in the alleged theft of a getaway vehicle.
Zamar Jones, 7, was pronounced dead at 1 p.m. Monday of his injuries. Zamar was playing with a toy on his parents' porch Saturday shortly before 8 p.m. when a shootout erupted on his West Philadelphia block, the 200 block of North Simpson Street, witnesses said.
A gunman in a Chevrolet pickup truck opened fire at a group of people and then crashed into a red car as the vehicle sped off. Two men then fired back at the pickup truck in retaliation. One of those bullets struck Zamar in the head.
The crime has drawn attention to the difficulty faced by those living in the neighborhood, many of whom have taken to the streets to decry violence and crime where they live. In the past six months, 79 crimes, 11 of them violent, have occurred within a two block radius of Saturday's shooting, according to a crime map.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
