A Southern California teenager accused of shooting and killing another teen while at a hotel party over the weekend has been charged as an adult, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Ryan Jawad, 16, is accused of murder in Sunday's shooting death of 15-year-old Gage Seal, a Temecula Valley High School student, officials said.
Jawad was charged with one count of murder, including an allegation he personally used a firearm, and one count of possession of stolen property, a gun, Riverside County District Attorney's Office spokesman John Hall said Tuesday.
Jawad's arraignment was postponed until June 16. He was being held at juvenile hall on $2 million bail.
The night of the shooting, Seal was with friends who took him to a party at a Lake Elsinore hotel room. Family members say it appears another teenager began playing with a gun and fatally shot Seal.
The shooting happened about 12:45 a.m. Sunday, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
"There are just certain types of crimes and certain circumstances around certain crimes that we need to consider, that the person needs to be charged as an adult," Hall said. "That's what happens in this case."
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Prosecutors did not release any other details about the hotel shooting, but Jawad's parents said on Tuesday that their son and Seal were close friends.
Seal was a freshman baseball player at Temecula Valley High and had dreams of playing professionally. His father, Billy, said Seal was a good student.
"Pretty much straight As, 3.6 grade-point average," said his father as he shed tears. "I lost my best friend and I lost my son."
Family and friends gathered at a vigil Monday night to mourn the loss of the teen.
"He's the best brother I could ever ask for," said Seal's younger brother, Thatcher. "We had a crazy special brother bond. I don't think anyone has ever had a better relationship with their brother than me and Gage had. I remember every night he would always come in my room and tell me how much he loved me and wished that I slept good."
