HARFORD COUNTY, Md. — After three hours of deliberation, a jury found Jaylen Prince guilty of first-degree murder.
Prince, 16, was accused of gunning down 15-year-old Warren Curtis Grant.
It all began on September 6, 2024, when authorities responded to a call at Joppatowne High School for reports of a shooting.
Deputies with the Harford County Sheriff's Office found Grant inside of the school bathroom suffering from a gunshot wound.
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Despite life-saving measures performed at Johns Hopkins Bayview, he later succumbed to his injuries.
Prince was identified as the shooter through further investigation from the sheriff's office.
A witness at the trial testified that Prince and Grant were arguing in the bathroom after Prince followed Grant in there to confront him about a female student.
Another witness, who was present at the time of the shooting, filmed the confrontation where Prince is seen as the aggressor, threatening to kill Grant four times.
Prince was seen removing the weapon from his backpack and shooting Grant before fleeing the scene and disposing of the gun, which was never recovered.
He was apprehended just 20 minutes after the shooting after a neighbor claimed a suspicious subject attempted to break into a house.
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“We are very proud today to have given justice to the victim’s family. At fifteen years old, his life was taken by this defendant far too soon in a place that is supposed to be safe for the children of our communities. There is absolutely no justifiable reason for a sixteen-year-old to be armed with a firearm, especially in the halls of our high schools. It is my hope that this case sends a clear message that if you make adult decisions that take the life of another, there will be adult consequences,” said State’s Attorney Alison M. Healey.
The trial lasted eight days.
Prince's sentencing date is set for September 2, 2025.
He faces a maximum penalty of a life sentence plus 28 years of incarceration.
