The 15-year-old boy who is accused of fatally shooting a classmate at Watson Chapel Junior High is facing upgraded charges, according to officials. The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office announced Friday that Thomas Quarles faces a capital murder charge. He was originally charged with first-degree battery in connection to the shooting at Watson Junior High School earlier this week.
Middle school kid arrested for murder of classmate
The new charge comes after the victim, Daylon Burnett, died after two days of intensive care at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock.
Police said the shooting happened on Monday inside the school around 10 a.m. while students were changing classrooms. The shooting was reportedly an isolated incident. On Thursday, students at Watson Chapel Junior High held a balloon release to honor Burnett.
The great-uncle of Daylon Burnett, Glen Brown, Sr. said their family had hoped Burnett would pull through and return home, but now they are dealing with the loss of their loved one. Brown said he became emotional after the phone call he received that his great-nephew had died.
“It went beyond my prayers,” Brown said. “As I said, we pray for the best and we try to accept the worse, and that’s what we had to do.”
Black on black crime is out of control
Brown said Burnett showed the family a glimmer of hope when he moved his finger just one day before he passed away.
“We all were just pulling for a major miracle and to get that kind of phone call, you shake your head and say ‘oh no, oh no’,” he said. “But you know, at that point there’s nothing that you can do, but breathe in and accept it.”
Quarles will remain at the Jack Jones Juvenile Detention Center until his next court appearance. His bond was set at $1 million for murder. His mother and father were the only people allowed inside the courtroom during his hearing Friday. Brown said the tragedy is a situation where no one wins.
“We’ve almost lost two lives because probably incarceration for him is gonna be a long time,” he said. “It’s just a chance for him not to live with normal citizens and likewise with the deceased. It’s just a case where nobody wins.”
Quarles’s next court appearance for the murder is set for April 12.
BREAKING: 15-year-old Thomas Quarles who is alleged to have shot his classmate, 15-year-old Daylon Burnett at Watson Chapel Junior High. Originally he was being held on a probable cause charge of first-degree battery as an adult, is now being upgraded to capital murder #ARnews
— Desmond Nugent (@DesmondNugentTV) March 5, 2021