GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A man has been charged with murder in the death of a 15-year-old who was shot while riding a scooter around downtown Grand Rapids earlier this year.

Josiah Tyree Pittman, 18, was arraigned Monday afternoon on charges of second-degree murder and using a firearm during the commission of a felony in the death of La-kyijah Williams.

Online records show Pittman was booked into the county jail Friday. Court documents say he denied being involved in the shooting in any way.

SHOOTING CAUGHT ON VIDEO

La-kyijah died after being shot in the back of the head shortly before midnight on May 18 in the area of Ottawa Avenue SW near Oakes Street SW, which is near Studio Park south of Van Andel Arena.

“Fifteen-year-old girl who was literally just riding her scooter in downtown Grand Rapids is gunned down,” Chief Eric Winstrom described at a Monday afternoon news conference at Grand Rapids Police Department headquarters.

The shooting was caught on surveillance camera, court documents show. The document says the shooter can be seen walking with “several other juvenile subjects” before pulling a gun from his waistband, firing four shots and running away in the opposite direction. It says the shooter is seen on video removing a mask he was wearing while he took off.

Winstrom called the shooting amid many innocent bystanders in the busy area “extremely cowardly.”

“No. 1, for the act, but No. 2, you have no idea where those rounds are going to go. They travel a long way and they’re still deadly when they travel many blocks,” he said.

In the days following her death, family members recalled La-kyijah as spunky and goofy, always laughing. They said she loved fashion, basketball and her nieces and nephews.

“She was the happiest person I know. She made even the darkest times good,” sister LaMia Foster told News 8 in May.

PROSECUTOR: ‘BEEF’ PROMPTED SHOOTING

Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker said the shooting was not random, but that La-kyijah was not the intended target.

“This is a horrible event,” Becker said. “This was not a random act of violence. … There was a target. Unfortunately, Miss Williams was not the target. She was just downtown, minding her own business, and got hit.”

Becker and Winstrom would not comment on who the intended target was, saying only that La-kyijah was not with that person.

“There may be something developing out of that,” Becker said when asked about the target. “At this point in time, we’re not prepared to delve into what that was.”

The prosecutor said there appeared to be some sort of “beef” involved but would not be more specific, saying, “We’re just going to leave it at that.”

The chief praised his detectives and Blair Lachman, the assistant prosecutor assigned to the case, saying they worked tirelessly.

“Every murder is extremely time-consuming to investigate. And when that incident happens outside, in public, it gets more complicated. When you throw in the fact that this murder happened in downtown Grand Rapids, with numerous people around … just the volume of people to interview is extensive, the volume of businesses to visit, the volumes of possibilities of where there could be surveillance video or other evidence. So this was an extremely heavy lift logistically,” Winstrom said. “We don’t forget any murder victim, but when you’re talking about a daughter of Grand Rapids, a 15-year-old child, my detectives … they were not going to rest. We will not forget and we will hold people accountable when this happens.”

The video and witness statements led investigators to ID Pittman as the shooter, the court document says. It says Pittman denied it was him, including after he was shown several photos from the shooting.

Becker also said that prosecutors used an investigative subpoena — which compels witnesses to testify under oath in court — to solve the case. He said the witness was cooperative.

CHIEF: ‘HEARTBREAKING, TRAGIC, AVOIDABLE’

Winstrom described the shooting as “absolutely heartbreaking, absolutely tragic, absolutely avoidable,” but also said police saw “a lot of cooperation with the community” as they worked the case.

“I want to thank the community who really came together to recognize that we are not going to be the city that tolerates one of our children getting murdered and not following through,” the chief said.

“There is actually no way to morally defend silence when it comes to a child being murdered,” he added later.

GRPD continues to investigate the death of another 15-year-old: Amillier Penn was shot and killed while playing football with some buddies in a Grand Rapids neighborhood about two weeks after La-kyijah died.

“I’m confident that we’re headed in the right direction on that case,” Winstrom said. “Just (as) with La-kyijah, we have a lot of detectives who are not going to rest and we are definitely not going to forget about Milli.”

Anyone with information about La-kyijah’s or Amillier’s deaths or any other case can contact GRPD detectives at 616.456.3380 or Silent Observer at 616.774.2345.

Pittman’s bond was denied at arraignment, with the judge citing the seriousness of the charge and concerns about the safety of the community. If convicted of murdering La-kyijah, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. A felony firearm conviction adds a mandatory two years to any sentence.