A 17-year-old from New Jersey is charged with murder after allegedly running down two girls who were riding an electric bike.
The teen, who is not named because he is a minor, faces two counts of first-degree murder as prosecutors have alleged the act was deliberate and premeditated, Fox News reported.
The incident happened around 5:26 p.m. Monday. The 17-year-old was driving a 2021 Jeep when police say he ran down the girls who were on an electric bike. Fox News reported that although the teen left the scene he was caught a short time later.
The New York Post reported that Maria Niotis and Isabella Salas were killed and that the driver, according to family members, was specifically targeting Maria.
"A coward of a man who had been plotting this attack against Maria for months, carried out his horrific act, taking not only her life but also Isabella's," the families told The New York Post.
A neighbor told Fox News that the driver regularly parked outside one of the girl's homes.
"He's been parked outside her house for three months now. He was never stopped," the neighbor told Fox.
