Pittsburgh Police announced Friday the arrests of two teens for the homicide of 15-year-old Marquis Campbell who was shot in a school van outside of his Pittsburgh Public School in January 2022.
Brothers Eugene Watson, 18, and Brandon Watson, 17, were charged with criminal homicide, conspiracy to commit homicide, carrying a firearm without a license, and possession of a firearm by a minor. Both are being charged as adults.
At the time of his death, Campbell was attending Oliver Citywide Academy, a full-time special education center on the North Side for students in grades 3-12. He was shot on his first day back on campus after he attended schools elsewhere.
In affidavits to support the charges, police say an official “at a local school” reported multiple altercations involving Campbell and the brothers. Those included three physical fights between September and November of 2021.
“The motive for the fight(s) were words exchanged involving previous friends / relative’s murders,” according to the affidavit. “All 3 boys eventually left the school mainly due to these fights and that a resolution to the dispute(s) were unable to be achieved.”
Campbell returned to Oliver when it resumed in-person instruction, though school officials say his mother had asked for him to remain home as she feared for his safety.
On Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022, two males entered the school’s parking lot, as Campbell exited the building and boarded a school van to be transported home. One male shot Campbell in the chest through an open van window, and the two ran away.
The police affidavit said they identified the suspects based on interviews with two witnesses, video surveillance footage, and evidence including discarded clothing and a revolver. Officers said they tracked footprints left in the snow by the suspects, which led them to the clothing and the gun.
During that investigation, the affidavit said, police detained a male who fit the description of one of the suspects. The affidavit said the pedestrian identified himself as Brandon Watson and said he was heading home to an address that lay in the opposite direction he was walking. He was allowed to leave.
It is not clear why it took more than a year for charges to be brought: Police interviewed witnesses within two weeks of the shooting, and obtained DNA samples from the Watsons — which the affidavit says matched clothing they found and the revolver — in February 2022. The affidavits do not describe further investigative work since that time, and police publicly said that they were “very close” to an arrest last summer.
A public safety spokesperson said "The DNA analysis can take a long period of time."
Deputy District Attorney Stephie-Anna Ramaley states in the affidavit that the circumstances of the shooting increase the potential for harm to the public and a risk of flight.
“The actors shot the victim while he was on a school bus during the dismissal of a local school in the presence of numerous school-aged children and educational workers,” the affidavit released Friday states. “The actors are also brothers and are being charged with homicide, which could lead to a sentence of life imprisonment.”
In a statement released Friday night, PPS officials said they and members of the district school board are thankful that arrests have been made and grateful for the work of police involved with the investigation.
"As educators, we are deeply saddened by the damaging and lasting impact community violence has on all young people. We grieve for the multiple young lives we have lost due to gun violence," the district said in its statement.
"While we also mourn the lost potential that occurs when young people decide to commit deadly violence, should the suspects be found guilty, we expect justice to be served," the statement said.
"It must be clear that our community will not tolerate heinous acts of gun violence anywhere near our schools that put the safety of our students and staff in danger."
