RIVIERA BEACH — Prosecutors are charging a 17-year-old as an adult in a fatal shooting at the Wawa gas station in Riviera Beach last month.
Authorities transferred the teen from juvenile custody to the Palm Beach County Jail on Friday, July 12, to face charges of second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and being a delinquent in possession of a firearm in the June 26 death of Anthony Thurston.
Investigators say the teen shot and killed Thurston, also 17, and wounded another teen in an apparent gang-related incident at the Wawa on the 7000 block of Garden Road, off Blue Heron Boulevard near Interstate 95. The suspected shooter told investigators he fired in self-defense after another person in the store had threatened him.
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During a court hearing on Saturday, July 13, at the Palm Beach County Jail, Circuit Judge Carolyn Bell assigned the teen a public defender and ordered that he be held without bail on the murder and attempted murder charges.
The Palm Beach Post is not naming the defendant, whom jail records indicate lives in the West Palm Beach area, because of his age. As a policy, the county Public Defender’s Office does not comment on open cases.
Suspected teen shooter said he acted in self-defense after being threatened at Wawa
According to a police report, the 17-year-old and a female companion were purchasing items at the Wawa shortly after 9:30 p.m. on June 26 when they observed Thurston and two other people enter the store. The defendant and his companion reportedly walked past Thurston’s group as the group was standing near an order screen in the deli area.
Surveillance-camera video reportedly showed the alleged shooter retrieve a firearm moments later, fire two shots at Thurston and his companions, then pull back the slide and fire a third shot. The shooter and his companion then ran to a vehicle waiting outside and fled the scene, police said.
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Investigators said the shooter and Thurston were believed to be members of rival gangs and said the gangs have a history of committing violence against each other. Days after the shooting, police investigators obtained a warrant to search the suspected shooter’s residence and brought him to the police station for questioning.
The teen reportedly told investigators he had gone to the store that night with his girlfriend to get a sandwich when he ran into another woman he thought he knew and had a brief conversation. The teen said he was filling up his drink at the soda dispenser when a male in a hooded sweatshirt approached and started “grilling,” a street term for for staring and showing teeth at someone in a disrespectful manner.
He alleged that as he and his girlfriend tried to leave the store, three males followed, with one making a statement that he interpreted to be a threat to shoot. He said one of the other males reached for his waistband, prompting him to retrieve his firearm and shoot in self-defense.
Investigators said the surveillance video showed that the three males had not followed the suspected shooter, as he claimed, but instead appeared to be placing an order for food.
Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Murder charge for West Palm Beach teen in fatal shooting at Wawa store
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