Two men have been arrested, accused of being part of a gang and fatally shooting a Bowie High School student last week when he tried to protect a friend and stop a fight.
Alexander Onyeador and Keyon Flynn, both 18, were arrested Wednesday and charged with murder in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Anthony Strather, Jr. Both men face additional charges.
In an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by NBC 5 Thursday, investigators said Strather parked his car at a friends house on Cliffside Drive, about a block from the high school. A witness told police he was standing in front of the house with Strather and another friend, 17-year-old Marcus Demetrius Hendrix, when a group of males walked up to them in "an aggressive manner."
According to the first witness, 18-year-old Elijah Washington, took off his shirt and approached Hendrix. The pair began fighting and at some point Hendrix fell. The witness said the group of males surrounded Hendrix and that's when Strather stepped in to stop the fight.
The witness told police that one of the group, the only one in a hooded jacket, then pulled out a gun and began shooting.
A second witness told police that prior to the fight the group of males were riding in a Honda and pulled up next to Strather, Hendrix and some others at a traffic light. One of the males called out to Hendrix before following them to the home on Cliffside Drive.
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The second witness told police that there was cell phone video of the fight and that it showed the others from the car taunting Hendrix and encouraging the fight to continue, but that it didn't show the actual shooting. The second witness told police two people pulled out weapons and began shooting -- one of the armed men fired on Strather and Hendrix while the second fired at the first witness, missed and struck an uninvolved person who was working on a computer inside his home.
Strather was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead while Hendrix was hospitalized and treated for a gunshot wound to the leg. The third victim, who was not involved in the incident, suffered minor injuries that were not life threatening.
The second witness also told police he knew who the armed men were and that they were part of a criminal street gang known as "MUH." Arlington police, who said they were familiar with the gang, were then able to identify persons of interest in the case and secure the arrests of Onyeador and Flynn.
Investigators said the cell phone video shared with detectives clearly showed the group who arrived in the Honda, including the two men named as suspects in the shooting.
Onyeador and Flynn are currently charged with murder and are being held on $200,000 bond each. Onyeador is in the Arlington City Jail and is also being held on a charge of engaging in organized criminal activity with an additional $15,000 bond. Flynn, meanwhile, is in the Tarrant County Jail and is also being held on an aggravated robbery charge. A bond amount has not been listed for the robbery charge.
It's not clear if either Onyeador or Flynn have obtained attorneys.
Joseph Singleton, a sophomore at Bowie High School, said Strather was a mentor with a bright future and that he hoped to carry Strather's message forward. NBC 5 has also learned Strather was a member of the police 5.0 mentoring program, which held sessions on violence and life choices.
Strather, a starting defensive end for the Arlington Bowie High School football team, will be memorialized Saturday in a service at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington at 11 a.m. A wake will be held Friday at 6 p.m. at St. John Unleashed in Grand Prairie. A vigil was held last week.
