In Pennsylvania, a teen has been arrested and charged with murder after he allegedly admitted to authorities that he shot and killed another child over Instagram. According to a press release from the Bensalem Police Department, they got a 911 call on Friday afternoon regarding a probable homicide, from a woman who reported receiving an Instagram video chat from a friend.
Police say the teen said he “had just killed someone” in the chat before turning the camera around to show bloody legs and feet. The cops say he then requested for help in burying the body. The announcement claims that the tipper informed authorities that the Bensalem teen responsible for sending the message resided in the Top of the Ridge trailer park.
Police said that when they arrived, the adolescent bolted out of the trailer’s back and was caught a mile away at the intersection of Newport Mews Drive and Groton Drive. When police entered the trailer, they found the body of a young woman on the restroom floor.
She had been shot to death. Authorities also reported taking “significant steps” to remove evidence from the scene of the incident. Only that she is a minor has been disclosed about the victim so far, and no information about her identify has been provided.
Authorities say they have enough evidence to prosecute 16-year-old Joshua Cooper as an adult with murder, possession of criminal tools, and altering or falsifying physical evidence. According to publicly available court records, he appeared for a preliminary arraignment on a Friday evening and was subsequently denied bail.
No one knows for sure if he made a plea. Authorities have stated that Cooper is currently being housed at the Edison Juvenile Detention Center. He will be arraigned on December 7th, as per public records available online.
There was no mention of a lawyer representing the teenager in available court documents. As ABC News reported, Instagram was slow to reply to a request for comment. Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact the Bensalem Police Department.
