Teen arrested in shooting death of Allen High School football player at party
Plano police arrested a suspect Monday who is accused of fatally shooting an Allen High School football player at a house party over the weekend.
Kemond Smith, 17, of Forney, is charged with murder, police said. Smith was being held in the Plano City Jail on Monday.
The student who was killed has been identified as 16-year-old Marquel Ellis Jr., according to statements from the school district.
Ellis died shortly after he was shot Saturday night in the 3200 block of Peachtree Lane in Plano.
Plano police responded to a shooting call about 10 p.m. Saturday on Peachtree Lane. Detectives later determined that a gunman fired into the house full of teens attending a party.
Minutes before the shooting, several people were kicked out of the house and then shots were fired into the home, according to the Associated Press.
According to news reports, Allen ISD released the following statement on Sunday:
We were notified earlier today of the tragic incident that took the life of Marquel Ellis Jr. Ellis was a sophomore at Allen High School. The school has arranged for counselors to be available for students and staff on Monday morning.
The Ellis family has established a GoFundMe account to pay for the teen’s funeral.
“He was (an) innocent bystander playing video games and (his) life was cut” short, the family said in the GoFundMe post.
As of Monday evening, more than $13,000 had been raised for the teen’s funeral.
This story was originally published November 18, 2019 at 7:24 AM with the headline "Teen arrested in shooting death of Allen High School football player at party."
