[Insert city] police have made an arrest in connection with a deadly shooting that killed one and wounded another earlier this week outside [insert address] in [insert neighborhood]. [Insert defendant name and age] is charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder in addition to weapons offenses. [Defendant name] appeared in court this morning, where he pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors allege that [defendant name] was targeting rival gang members outside a house party just before midnight. Family members of the deceased, [insert deceased victim name], said that he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. “He wasn’t involved in any of that gang stuff,” said a tearful [insert name], [insert deceased victim name]’s mother. “He just came to the party with his girlfriend, and I guess some of the other people outside were the targets,” said the mother of another party attendee, who asked not to be named. This is “not the first time something like this has happened around here,” she continued, citing similar shootings last summer outside a graduation party and a barbeque in [insert neighborhood].
Police say that [deceased victim name]’s girlfriend, [insert surviving victim name], was also wounded in the shooting. Paramedics rushed [surviving victim name] to [insert hospital name], where she underwent emergency surgery and remains in critical condition.
[Defendant name] has 11 prior arrests and was placed on probation last year following a conviction for drugs. At this morning’s arraignment, prosecutors asked Judge [insert name] to deny bail, citing [defendant name]’s extensive criminal history—which includes charges for weapons possession, felony assault, and robbery—as well as cell phone records placing [defendant name] in the vicinity of the shooting, which is more than ten miles from his home. The defendant is due back in court next month on an unrelated charge stemming from a gun arrest earlier this year. Prosecutors told the [insert newspaper name] that [defendant name] was placed on supervised release following his [insert month] arrest.
At a press conference outside the courthouse, police and prosecutors told reporters that they are still looking for a second alleged gunman, citing witness reports, shell casings recovered at the scene, and video footage captured by a nearby security camera. They are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call [insert hotline information here].
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