13-year-old Texas boy charged with murder in girl's shooting at playground: 'Senseless'

A 13-year-old Texas boy has been arrested and charged with murder after police said he shot and killed a teenage girl who was his schoolmate in the suburban Houston city of Baytown.

Baytown police said Tuesday that the shooting happened at around 4 p.m. on March 21 in the playground of an apartment complex.

Police say 14-year-old Anaya Zachary was shot at the playground and pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. A bystander holding a baby "sustained an injury from the fired rounds," but both survived, police said.

Anaya was shot four times, family members told local news outlets.

"She tried to turn around and run and he shot her twice in the back and then when she fell, he shot her two more times," Anaya's cousin, Janet Zachery, told KTRK-TV.

Police did not release the boy’s identity but said he is currently in custody at the Harris County Juvenile Detention Center, where he has been charged with murder.

A school dispute turned tragic

According to police, the shooting happened after Anaya and the boy got into a verbal fight on their school bus. Both teens went to Baytown Junior School.

Anaya's godmother, Sonya Stanford, told local news outlet KHOU-TV that she had heard the boy had threatened Anaya shortly before the shooting.

"I was told that he told Naya: 'When I get out the bus, I'm going to kill you today,'" she said.

Police said the teen approached Anaya while she was at her apartment complex's playground and shot her.

"She asked me if she could go outside to see her little sister and I said yes. She never told me about an altercation or anything," Stanford said.

Anaya's father said he's left baffled by his daughter's death.

"They're telling me it's a school thing, I'm not sure what it is," Joseph Zachary told KHOU. "But I know I came here yesterday and my child was dead laying in the parking lot."

Baytown police chief: 'Senseless act of violence'

Baytown Police Chief John Stringer lamented Anaya's loss, saying in a statement that it affected the community as a whole.

“As we continue to investigate, our thoughts are with the victim’s family and all those impacted by this senseless act of violence," he said. "This incident serves as a reminder of the importance of peaceful conflict resolution and the severe consequences that violence can have."

Now, Anaya's family is left grieving and asking how the 13-year-old boy got the gun he used to kill her.

"That little boy didn't go purchase that gun," Janet Zachary told KTRK-TV. "That little boy didn't go next door and get the gun. He didn't get the gun off the bus. For him to go home and get it, he knew it was there."

Baytown police did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's questions about how the boy obtained the gun and whether his parents would face any charges.

Stanford said that her goddaughter was a good girl who listened well and was a dedicated student.

"She gives you no problem, 'Yes ma'am, no ma'am,'" Stanford told KHOU-TV. "All Naya wanted to do was get in her books, learn, graduate and go on about her life."

Janet Zachary told KTRK-TV that Anaya had moved to Baytown from Opelousas, Louisiana, for a better life: "As hurtful as it is for us, her mother, who lives in Louisiana − we had to send her child back in a body bag."

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.