Facebook confession or hack? Teen arrested for killing 11-year-old SC girl, police say
A South Carolina teenager arrested in the murder of an 11-year-old girl says his Facebook account was hacked and someone else posted a confession to his page, according to multiple reports.
Stephen Braden Powell, 17, has been charged with murder and four counts of attempted murder.Anderson Police say he was one of the suspects that shot into an Anderson home at least 35 times, killing Ja’Naiya Scott and wounding several others, Police Chief Jim Stewart said during a news conference Wednesday.
The Spartanburg teenager is not the only suspect, Stewart said in the press conference, which was broadcast live on WSPA. He said there were two guns used in the June 23 shooting, and police are looking for a second suspect.
Two 11-year-olds, including Ja’Naiya Scott, and and 18-year-old were shot that day, according to WYFF. The other 11-year-old is still in critical condition, the station reported.
A Facebook post Wednesday night on Powell’s Facebook account appeared to confess to the shooting, Fox Carolina reports.
According to the station, the post read, “Late Saturday night, on June 23, 2019. I killed a little girl (Ja’naiya Scott) because (someone) thought it was okay to rob me for what I had and I wanted to take what (that person) had. The reason I am saying this now is because I feel so guilty and can’t go on like this. LLJ (purple heart emoji). Prayers to her family. I am so sorry.”
Someone deleted that post quickly, then followed it with, “Who ever playing on my page stop playing on my life I did not post that and I have nothing to do with any of that someone hacked my page,” Fox Carolina reports.
Police say they are aware of the posts but would not comment further.
“It’s unclear whether the post is valid or is the result of an account being hacked,” the Anderson Independent-Mail reports.
Stewart said Powell was arrested in Spartanburg and will likely have a first court hearing Wednesday afternoon in Anderson.
