Three undocumented immigrants are being charged with murdering a 17-year-old high school student in Northern Virginia.
Danny Centeno-Miranda, a 17-year-old student who attended Park View High School, was shot in the back twice on his way to school.
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s office charged Henry Ernesto Dominguez, 20, Juan Moises Aguirre Zelaya, 19, and another unidentified 17-year-old with the murder of Centeno-Miranda on Friday, the Loudon Times-Mirror reported.
The identity of the 17-year-old was not released because he is a minor, though the report confirmed he is an illegal immigrant from Mexico, Dominguez and Zelaya are immigrants from El Salvador.
These three are a few of the “DREAMers” that President Obama, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush have advocated for.
It’s believed that the Mexican immigrant was the shooter, and the other two young men were accomplices.
Loudon Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Plowman said in an interview with the Loudon Times-Mirror that he will be seeking to try the 17-year-old as an adult.
“He will be brought into court on Tuesday for arraignments and advised to his right to counsel, undoubtedly appointed an attorney,” Plowman said. “We have every intention at that point of filing a notice of certification on his attorney and proceeding to prosecute him as an adult. The nature of the charge and his age and a combination of that I think is an automatic certification to do that.”
Dominguez and Zelaya have been charged with possession of a firearm by a person who is not a citizen of the United States and accessory after the fact. The two young men may be deported, depending on how federal agencies choose to handle the case.
The motive for the shooting is still unclear, though gang activity has been on the rise in the area.
In March, a group of suspected MS-13 gang members were trying to recruit students from Sterling Middle School, according to a search warrant filed by the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office.
