A Newark man has been arrested and charged in the murder of a 9-year-old autistic boy, authorities said Wednesday.
Jesse Dunbar, 36, was also charged with attempted murder for shooting and wounding an adult man, NJ.com reported. He additionally faces charges of aggravated assault and weapons offenses.
“The killing of any person is a tragic occurrence, but it is particularly heinous when an innocent 9-year-old child loses their life to all-too-common senseless violence,” Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens told the Bergen Record.
The victim, Yasin Morrison, was stepping out of a car along with his father and 3-year-old sister to visit his grandmother in Newark on Friday evening, WNYW reported. Cops have said they do not believe Yasin and his family, also Newark residents, were the intended targets of the shooting.
Investigators said a 36-year-old man with no connection to Yasin was also wounded by gunfire from the suspect, according to WPIX. The attempted murder charge against Dunbar is connected to that incident.
“Yasin was a beautiful soul — gentle, loving, and full of light. As a non-verbal autistic child, he had a unique way of expressing love, bringing joy to everyone around him,” the Morrison family wrote in a GoFundMe. “His smile could brighten even the darkest days, and his presence filled our home with warmth.”
The online fundraiser had received nearly $16,000 toward an $18,000 goal as of Wednesday afternoon.