A Salem County grand jury has indicted a teenager on attempted murder charges following a shooting that seriously injured a woman last year.
Ziian R. Harris, 17, of Salem, was waived from family to adult court to face charges from an alleged robbery attempt that ended in gunfire on April 19, 2023.
His attorney did not respond to a request seeking comment.
Harris was 16 years old when the incident occurred, according to court records.
A man told police that two people tried to rob him and fired shots at him in Salem City, according to the affidavit of probable cause filed with Harris’ charges. The man was not wounded, but his “significant other” was hit by gunfire, police stated in the affidavit.
The victim was shot in the abdomen and wrist, and later released from a hospital in Delaware after “several extensive surgeries,” police said.
Evidence recovered from the defendant’s Instagram posts linked him to the shooting and placed him in the area of the incident, police said.
Harris was then arrested May 2 following a reported shots fired and a foot pursuit in Salem, police said. He was allegedly found in possession of a handgun.
A forensic evaluation of the gun and the shell casings from the April shooting “yielded a match between the two,” police stated.
The grand jury indicted Harris last week on five counts, including first-degree charges of attempted murder, conspiracy and robbery, and two second-degree weapons charges.
Court records indicate Harris was ordered jailed pending trial.
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Matt Gray may be reached at [email protected].
