Man wanted in NC boy’s death turns himself in. Gun was fired in crowded apartment
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Man charged after gun accidentally fires in crowded Clayton apartment, boy killed.
- Suspect fled scene Saturday after shooting; turned himself in Monday to face manslaughter.
- Investigators report 20-30 people present, witnesses hid weapons as officers responded.
A Johnston County man turned himself in on Monday to face a charge of killing a 12-year-old boy when the gun he was holding went off Saturday in a crowded Clayton apartment.
Ty’ryn Anthony Zah’rel Washington, 21, of Kenly, fled the apartment before police arrived Saturday, according to a news release. He was charged with involuntary manslaughter, police said, and the investigation is continuing.
Clayton police have not released the boy’s name. District Court Judge Craig James set Washington’s bond at $50,000 on Tuesday during Washington’s first appearance. Washington chose to be represented by a public defender.
Prosecutors said at the hearing they are still reviewing the case for possible further charges against Washington. They argued for a $100,000 bond — greater than the suggested bond amounts for Class F felonies — because of pending, unrelated charges against Washington, his initial evasion of law enforcement and, prosecutors alleged, a possible gang affiliation.
The shooting happened as Clayton police officers were responding around 5:30 p.m. to a fight involving weapons in the 300 block of Commodore Street. Several people were running away from the scene, and officers stayed to talk with the witnesses who remained, they said.
Police then saw several people running from an apartment building in the next block and also heard someone yelling that someone had been shot, they said.
The officers found a boy with a gunshot wound inside the apartment in the 400 block of Commodore Street. He died after Johnston County EMS personnel unsuccessfully tried to save his life, police said.
There were 20 to 30 people in the apartment at the time of the shooting, some of whom started hiding weapons in response to the police activity in the 300 block of Commodore Street, police said. The boy was hit when the weapon discharged by accident, they said.
Police have not released any other information about what happened.
Previous charges against suspect
Washington was on pre-trial release at the time of the shooting. Court records show he faces charges of aiding and abetting another man accused of pointing a gun at someone on May 29 and being an accessory after the fact by allegedly helping the other man evade arrest. .
On July 27, a Selma police officer pulled Washington’s car over and attempted to arrest him on an outstanding May warrant, records also show, but Washington pulled away, tensed up, and refused “to give up control of hands,” an arrest warrant states.
Washington was charged in that incident with resisting a police officer and damaging the windshield of the police vehicle. He was released from jail on July 27 after posting bond in both cases. In August, a judge found him guilty of resisting arrest, but the charge of damage to personal property was dismissed, records show.
Anyone with information about Saturday’s shooting can contact Clayton police at 919-553-4611 or the Johnston County 911 non-emergency number at 919-934-9411.
Remembering 12-year-old victim: ‘Just a fun kid’
Denocia Sanders lives in Garner now, but comes back occasionally to visit Kyrell and her other cousins. One of her last memories was spending time with Kyrell and a group of cousins at their house and taking them to the store.
Kyrell was a “pretty good kid” who loved playing video games, listening to the rapper Fat Mac and hip-hop music, and riding bikes with friends, Sanders said. He was in the sixth grade and previously had attended Coats Elementary School, she said.
“He was sweet. He loved all of his family,” Sanders said. “He just had a loud personality, and that’s what people liked about him. He was really outgoing, just a fun kid.”
She recalled another day when she stopped at the Food Lion in Clayton and saw a group of kids “zooming through the parking lot” to the gas station. Kyrell was with them and stopped to ask her for a dollar, she said.
“He was just really a great kid,” she said.
Sanders wasn’t there when Kyrell was shot, but learned later that he had been helping his grandfather earlier in the day with work around the house. They had just returned to the apartment complex when everybody entered the apartment, she said.
She didn’t know Washington. She questioned why a gun was pointed at a 12-year-old in the first place.
Gun violence needs to stop, because there are “too many children out here without parents, and there’s too many parents out here losing their children,” she said.
“This year, there have been way too many school shootings, too many officer-involved shootings, way too many gang-involved shootings. It’s just been a lot, and the people that it hurts are not only the people involved, but the families that are involved,” Sanders said.
This story was originally published December 1, 2025 at 10:47 AM.
