High School Students Arrested, Charged In North Stafford Murder

NORTH STAFFORD, VA — Police arrested three teenagers Monday night in connection with a July shooting at a North Stafford gas station that left one person dead and another injured. The teens were charged with first-degree murder in the death of Troy Barnett Jr. of Stafford.

While the suspects were not named because they are juveniles, two 17-year-old boys and a 15-year-old boy are charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated malicious wounding, conspiracy to commit murder and two counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony, the Free Lance-Star reported.

On July 3, police responded to the 5 Twelve Gas Station at 1075 Garrisonville Rd. around 10:15 p.m. after a 911 caller reported two people had been shot in the parking lot. Police found two people unresponsive with gunshot wounds. Barnett was pronounced dead at the scene, and Laura Guadalupe Gomez-De La Cruz, 18, of Stafford, was shot in the head and taken to an area hospital for treatment. As of Tuesday, Gomez-De La Cruz was still in the hospital.

All three suspects are students at North Stafford High School. They currently are being held at a juvenile detention center, and it is likely they will eventually be tried as adults.

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Two People Shot, One Fatally, In Stafford: UPDATE