Sedgwick County teen charged with murder in automatic weapon shooting

A 16-year-old Valley Center teen faces formal first-degree murder charges in the shooting death of Hunter Johnson, 18, also of Valley Center.

The Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office filed the charges Sept. 3 after detectives presented the case, the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office said. The teen was also charged with unlawful possession of a firearm.

The charges follow the teen's initial booking on Aug. 31 into the Sedgwick County Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center. At booking, he faced requested charges that also included murder in the first degree, criminal discharge of a firearm into an occupied dwelling, two counts of criminal damage to property, carrying a concealed weapon by a person under age 21 and carrying an automatic weapon, JC Post reported.

Modified handgun

The sheriff's office disclosed a new detail about the weapon. Detectives determined the gun was a handgun modified to fire automatically, according to spokesman Branden Stitt. The office described the weapon as capable of discharging automatically.

Johnson was found with multiple gunshot wounds in the 100 block of South Commercial Avenue in the city of Sedgwick shortly after midnight on Aug. 31. Sedgwick city EMS pronounced him dead at the scene, according to JC Post.

Deputies from the Sedgwick County and Harvey County sheriff's offices responded alongside Sedgwick Police Department officers. The call came in at approximately 12:06 a.m., according to JC Post. KWCH first reported the formal charges on Thursday.

What investigators found

The sheriff's office said several teenagers were at the South Commercial Avenue home when the shooting happened. The victim and the suspected shooter are not related, the office said.

The suspect's age was initially reported as 15. Detectives later confirmed he is 16. No source has named the teen. KSN reported it is the station's policy not to name individuals under 18 unless they are charged as adults.