Seven weeks after a murder on a SEPTA subway platform, the teen accused of the crime has been released and cleared of any wrongdoing in the death of his friend. NBC10’s Brian Sheehan spoke with the teen and his mother about what he went through.
Charges have been dropped against a teenager who was arrested in connection to a deadly SEPTA station shooting after surveillance video cleared him of any wrongdoing, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office announced.
On Jan. 11, 2024, Tyshaun Welles, 16, was shot at the Market-Frankford station. Welles died from his injuries a few days later on Jan. 16.
Zaire Wilson, 16, was arrested by SEPTA Police on Jan. 11, shortly after an alert was issued about the shooting. Quadir Humphrey, 18, was also arrested by SEPTA Police in connection to the shooting.
"People was saying I was gonna go down, do 15-20 years for something I ain’t do. I kept saying I was innocent, I ain’t do it, I had nothing to do with it. Nobody listened to me until I got to the youth study center," Wilson said.
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After reviewing SEPTA surveillance video and additional information, investigators determined that Humphrey acted alone in the shooting when he allegedly pulled out a gun and fired into a crowd of mostly young people, striking Welles on the platform of the 15th Street station.
“Every time I kept going to a court date, kept saying we don’t have the video. So why am I here? They didn’t have nothing on me. I had nothing to do with it," Wilson explained.
Humphrey is charged with murder and other related offenses.
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Surveillance video, which wasn’t initially available to the DA’s Office, showed that Wilson clearly was not involved in the shooting and murder of Welles, investigators said. The DA’s Office requested a hearing on Feb. 28. That request was granted the next day.
On Feb. 29, the DA’s Office withdrew all charges against Wilson and Judge Joffie Pittman approved an order for Wilson to be immediately released from custody.
“After an ongoing investigation made clear that a 16-year-old was in custody for a crime he did not commit, Assistant District Attorney Anthony Voci acted quickly to alert DA’s Office supervisors, Municipal Court leadership, and the Juvenile Justice Services Center to ensure that Zaire Wilson was released and reunited with his family within 36 hours,” District Attorney Larry Krasner said. “When presented with evolving or new information, the criminal legal system should move as quickly in the interest of justice – whether that means being prepared to meet the Commonwealth’s burden at trial or releasing from detention people who did not actually participate in a crime.”
"His life has changed. The same young man that walked out my door is not the same man that came back when I picked him up from the juvenile system," Wilson's mother told NBC10.
Wilson says he wants to graduate high school and study criminal law to make sure what happened to him doesn't happen to anyone else.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
