Taariq Stephens Pleads 'Not Guilty' in Murder of 16-Year-Old Brooklyn Girl: UPDATE

• Pictured: The suspect. Photo via @NYCityAlerts

UPDATE, Friday, 7 p.m.: Taariq Stephens pleaded "not guilty" to charges of second-degree murder and possessing a weapon Friday after surrendering to police the night before. The NYPD has claimed that 16-year-old Shemel Mercurious identified Stephens as her killer right before she died from a gunshot wound Tuesday night. Police say he lived just a few blocks down from his victim, and that the two were acquaintances; however, their exact relationship has yet to be revealed. Check back for updates.

Original story below.

EAST FLATBUSH, BROOKLYN — Homicide detectives investigating the shocking and tragic Tuesday-night murder of East Flatbush 16-year-old Shemel Mercurius are hunting for a young man named Taariq Stephens, 24. They believe he could be Mercurius' murderer.

The teen girl, a native of Guyana, reportedly moved to Brooklyn a few years ago in hopes of receiving a better education.

She was living with her aunt in a sixth-floor apartment in the large, brick building at 1406 Brooklyn Avenue — and was babysitting her 3-year-old cousin Josiah at home when she was shot to death around 6 p.m. Tuesday.

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When police arrived to the crime scene, Mercurius was able to name her killer before going unconscious, police said.

The name she whispered, according to the NYPD, was "Taariq."

A man in a black hoodie and red sweatpants, carrying an assault rifle, was caught on surveillance camera approaching Mercurius' front door Tuesday night.

“He pulls out the stock on the gun before he shoots this young lady,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert said at a Thursday press conference. “He racks three times, so we get three full rounds outside in the hallway.”

The killer used a .40 caliber "Kel-Tec sub machine gun," Boyce said.

Video of the suspect — included below — was edited by police before it was released to the press, Boyce said, due to its "graphic" nature.

Cops initially said the victim's boyfriend was a suspect in the shooting. However, Boyce said Thursday that detectives had gone through Mercurius' text messages with the suspect, and that “from what we could read of the texting, it is not a romantic relationship at all."

"So there’s a lot more to go on this case — a lot to figure out," Boyce said.

The NYPD chief said Stephens has six priors on his record and is considered "a dangerous guy, especially with that weapon."

Stephens lives nearby the crime scene, on Brooklyn Avenue, and is believed to have known Mercurius for about two weeks before her murder, Boyce said.

Anyone with info on the suspect or the crime can tip off police at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or NYPDCrimeStoppers.com.

Mercurius was a junior at Edward R. Murrow High School in Midwood. “We brought her here for a better life," her grandmother, 70-year-old Joan Mercurius, told the New York Daily News. "We hoped she could go to college.”

“She was so cute, and she grew up so fast,” the grandma said. “This is so terrible.”

New York City Councilman Jumaane Williams, who represents East Flatbush at City Hall, was joined by Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and the shooting victim's friends, family and neighbors Wednesday night for an emotional vigil outside her building.

At the vigil, her father broke down in tears on the building's front steps.

"We get 'sorrys' and 'condolences,' but that's hollow," Councilman Williams said. "There are too many people dying from gun violence. Yes, the city is down in shootings and murders, and I'm proud of that, but that doesn't mean anything to the family of Shemel."

Borough President Adams added: "Three-year-old children should not watch their cousin perish through gun violence. Three-year-old children should not have to relive the trauma. We will never normalize violence, we will never reach the point where we become immune or we become callous when violence takes place."

"We are here because we want the person responsible for this brought to justice," Adams said.

The local politicians also demanded that more city money be dedicated to groups fighting gun violence — as well as universal youth employment.

Because "without commonsense solutions like more jobs," Williams said, "we're damning these communities to experience more tragedies."

Did you know the victim? We'd love to learn more about her. We'd also be interested to hear from acquaintances of the suspected killer. Reach out: simone.wilson@patch.com.