A teen accused of killing a 16-year-old at a SEPTA station is cleared after new surveillance footage emerges

Prosecutors have withdrawn all charges — including homicide — against one of two people accused of killing a 16-year-old at a SEPTA station in January.

Zaire Wilson, 16, and an 18-year-old had been arrested on charges of homicide, aggravated assault, and related crimes in the fatal shooting of Tyshaun Welles. Welles was killed by a stray bullet when someone opened fire into a crowd of teens standing on the platform of the City Hall SEPTA Station.

Investigators believe that Welles, who had no previous contact with law enforcement, was not the intended target of the shooting.

Police initially said video showed Wilson pulling out a gun before Quadir Humphrey fired the gun toward a group of young people on the train platform.

But during their investigation, prosecutors found additional surveillance video from SEPTA that showed Wilson was not involved in the shooting and dropped the charges against him last month, said Jane Roh, spokesperson for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.

“In the interest of justice, our office withdrew all charges and moved quickly to notify the court and the JJSC [Juvenile Justice Services Center] to secure this juvenile’s release from detention,” Roh said in an email.

Wilson was released from custody Feb. 29, the same day prosecutors dropped the charges, said Geoffrey Seay, Wilson’s attorney.

The night of Jan. 11, Welles, who had spent the evening with friends at LevelUp, a neighborhood organization in West Philadelphia, was standing on the subway platform of the City Hall SEPTA station, waiting for a train. As Welles and a group of teens talked on the platform, police said at the time, Wilson brandished a gun and Humphrey opened fire as the train approached.

One of the bullets struck Welles in the head. Transit police who were on the platform during the gunfire scooped Welles into their arms and rushed him to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

After days fighting for his life, Welles died Jan. 16, after doctors determined that he was brain dead and his family decided to take him off life support.

Racquel Clark, Welles’ mother, said she was shocked when she learned Wilson’s charges were dropped.

“I was hurt,” she said. “I was at a loss. I didn’t understand. Basically, I want answers. My son was an innocent bystander.”

Wilson had maintained his innocence from the start, said Seay. Wilson and his mother both said surveillance footage would prove the teen was not involved in the fatal shooting.

“We reviewed the video with Assistant District Attorney Anthony Voci and Assistant District Attorney Flores, and it showed that my client had nothing to do with the shooting. He just happened to be near the person,” said Seay. “But there was no connection between the two of them at any time.”

Initial reports that Wilson had brandished a gun and handed it to Humphrey were untrue, Seay said, adding that Humphrey pulled the gun out of his waistband before firing.

Wilson knew Humphrey from school but the two were not friends, he said.

The time Wilson spent in custody and going to and from court hearings was a mental and emotional strain on the teen, said Seay, and his family is looking into getting him into therapy.

“For a 16-year-old that’s never been in trouble, it was quite traumatic,” he said.

Humphrey is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on April 1.

Welles’ mother said she will keep pushing for justice for her son and for the crowd of teens who were on the SEPTA platform when the shots rang out that January day.

“I want justice for my son. I also want it for the sake of the other kids,” said Clark. “He endangered a lot of people. He didn’t have regard for anyone.”