Police arrested a 17-year-old male Tuesday in connection with a drive-by shooting early Sunday in Irving, Texas, that left a former football and track standout dead just hours after his high school graduation.
Irving police say they have arrested Jeremiah Robinson and charged him with murder in the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Ledajrick Rajae Cox.
According to Dallas’ KXAS-TV, investigators said Robinson fired several shots at a car outside an Irving 7-Eleven, striking Cox and two other people.
Cox, who had graduated from David W. Carter (Dallas) High the day before the shooting, was transported to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
The motive for the shooting, which happened at around 1:40 a.m. Sunday, is still unclear.
According to the Dallas Morning News, the three men were with two other friends at an Irving 7-Eleven when one person got into an argument with a man in the parking lot, possibly because the man was speaking to one of the women in the vehicle. Cox didn’t know the man.
The group of friends left shortly after the argument, but they were followed by a newer-model white sedan, police said. The car then pulled alongside them and at least one person inside fired multiple shots into their vehicle and fled.
Cox ran track and was a wide receiver on the Dallas Carter football team. He was also named homecoming king and prom king, KDFW-TV (Channel 4) reported. He had signed in February with Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas.
The football team tweeted its condolences to Cox’s family and the Carter football program.
Cox’s father spoke proudly about his son to KDFW.
“He just wanted to do the right thing, wanted to achieve, just tried so hard,” Reginald Henry said. “I was real proud of him.”
One of the victims remained hospitalized Sunday night with wounds that were not believed to be life-threatening. The third victim was treated and released.
Robinson remains in the Irving Jail. His bond has not yet been set.