*UPDATE: Hughes County State's Attorney Kelly Marnette says the suspect is being charged as an adult. Authorities say Williams and the suspect were arguing over a past paintball incident before the suspect shot Williams in the chest with a semi-automatic shotgun.
A 16-year-old boy was killed in Pierre after being shot Tuesday evening. Dalton Williams was a sophomore at Riggs High School and was pronounced dead at Saint Mary’s Hospital after first responders attempted life-saving measures at the scene. Pierre Police Chief Bob Grandpre says when officers arrived at the private residence, there were three 16-year-old boys including Williams. One of the other two males was taken into custody and is charged with first degree murder. Grandpre says the other male was questioned as a witness and released, and doesn’t expect any future charges against him. Grandpre says the boys were described as friends and the community is receiving support to cope.
“It’s a close-knit community here, we’re not a large community so it really affects us when something like this happens. We met last night with the school personnel and our school resources officers and our mental health professionals to discuss how we could best approach this today for the students who would be returning to school and the community members that may need help. Part of that process was identifying the resources that we could provide to assist,” Grandpre says.
Grandpre says the state’s attorney will determine if the suspect is tried as an adult or juvenile. He says the Pierre Police Department and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation are working together on the continuing investigation.