Overview
- Police say the shooting occurred just after midnight Monday on the 600 block of West College Avenue, where 18-year-old Rafael Mercado Jr. was found with a fatal gunshot wound and pronounced dead at 1:27 a.m.
- Authorities identified the suspect as 17-year-old Jaiden Jose Lagares, who was arrested shortly after the incident; investigators say he knew the victim.
- Charging documents report witnesses saw Lagares waving a gun on a roof outside a party, point it at Mercado, fire, and then say he was sorry and did not mean to.
- Investigators recovered a firearm and additional ammunition from Lagares’ residence, according to police.
- Lagares was arraigned on criminal homicide and firearms charges, denied bail, and is held in York County Prison pending a Jan. 12 preliminary hearing, while the autopsy remains pending at Lehigh Valley Hospital.