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Nine teenagers have been arrested in connection with the shooting death of a 16-year-old boy in South Carolina in June. Police say that the fatal altercation, which began “over a girl” and was allegedly at least partially captured on video by one of the suspects, has left the teen’s family “devastated.”

Florence County sheriff’s deputies found Trey Dean Wright’s body along First Neck Road on June 24. He had been shot several times. The road, where Wright was found by law enforcement, is a rural area approximately 45 miles west of Myrtle Beach. The next day, a 19-year-old named Devan Scott Raper was arrested for the shooting. He was identified as the shooter and had, according to authorities, shot Wright after the two engaged in an argument.

Florence County law enforcement said that Raper did not act alone in the murder, however, and in the weeks after the fatal shooting, deputies announced a series of new arrests in the case. Police say that the victim, Trey Dean Wright, was lured to the road where the shooting occurred by several other teens who knew that Raper was present with a firearm. Raper had reportedly also already “made threats to shoot the victim.”

Wright’s mother, Ashley Lindsey, has said that her family is still mourning and that the court hearings have only made things worse. “All this court hearing and bond court and stuff is driving me crazy. I don’t even have time to sit down and think half the time, on top of losing my precious baby,” she said in an interview with Fox News Digital.

The arrests of the teenagers have included the teen’s own girlfriend. Gianna Kistenmacher, 17, of Myrtle Beach, has also been arrested, and according to an arrest affidavit obtained by The Daily Beast, she had “traveled to a location and provided Raper transportation to the victim’s location for the purpose of meeting up with him in order to intentionally bring about the violent confrontation.”

Kistenmacher was charged with accessory before the fact to murder, with the affidavit saying she “knowingly and willfully brought an accessory to the scene,” a reference to Raper. Prosecutors also accused the teen of “actual knowledge of Raper’s present ability and apparent intent to immediately use a deadly weapon and cause death to the victim” even as she brought the shooter to the scene.

Teens Charged as Adults

Florence County sheriff’s Maj. Michael Nunn told WBTW-TV that multiple suspects had “complicitly agreed” in “bring(ing) the armed codefendant, Raper, to the incident location and knowing that there would be a confrontation.” He added, “They knew that Raper had presented a firearm to the victim and made threats to shoot him, according to the arrest warrants.”

South Carolina law permits prosecutors to charge teenagers as adults for serious crimes, including murder. The Florence County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that five of the nine arrested teens in the case are being prosecuted as adults under state law. “The hand of one being the hand of all is part of South Carolina law as well, so that’s the basis of the charge for each of those individuals,” Nunn said in an interview.

Three other teens from the Myrtle Beach area were arrested and charged with murder along with Raper. The three were identified as 18-year-old Hunter Kendall and 18-year-old Corrine Belviso, both of Myrtle Beach, and 17-year-old Sydney Kearns of Myrtle Beach. Prosecutors have said that they believe their actions were sufficient to merit a murder charge for each of the three.

Sheriff T.J. Joye was quoted as saying that the shooting was the result of a dispute between the two adults. “They had issues with each other, and it was over a female,” he said. “The sad thing is, you got a 16-year-old that lost his life. You’ve got a 19-year-old who is going to be in jail the rest of his life. Over what?”

Raper is facing charges of murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime and is being held without bond. Kendall is also facing a murder charge and is being held without bond. Belviso and Kearns each posted a $20,000 surety bond last week. The two were released and are being held on their own recognizance until the matter is resolved.

The Florence County Sheriff’s Office has not provided further comment and cited an ongoing investigation when asked by media outlets. Similarly, prosecutors have declined to comment on the matter. For Trey Wright’s family, however, the loss of their loved one is still too real to be able to comment.

His mother is still grieving, and, as she has said, the court hearings are drawing out an already painful time. The reality for her is that her son’s girlfriend and several of his friends have been arrested and face serious charges for his murder. The case has also raised broader questions in the community about teenage rivalries and grudges, the nature of peer pressure among teens, and the connection between easy access to firearms and young lives being ended far too early.