13-year-old girl charged with Jersey City man’s murder

JERSEY CITY — A 13-year-old girl is spending the holiday weekend behind bars after being charged with killing a 35-year-old man and injuring another victim in a shooting earlier this month.

The teen was found and arrested Thursday night and charged with first-degree murder, second-degree aggravated assault and three second-degree weapons violations related to the Dec. 10 fatal shooting of Niles Holmes.

Prosecutors said Holmes was shot several times before 4:16 p.m. near the intersection of Martin Luther King Drive and Wilkinson Avenue in the city's Greenville section.

By the time police arrived, Holmes was unconscious. He was pronounced dead two hours later at Jersey City Medical Center.

A 24-year-old Jersey City man also was injured by two bullets that grazed his arm, authorities said.

Shortly after the shooting, police were looking for a group of young people who had been seen fleeing the area, the Jersey Journal reported. 

Hudson County prosecutors did not say Friday whether they knew what motivated the shooting or the victims' connection to the suspect. They also did not say whether they were pursuing other suspects.

Because the suspect is underage, her name has not been publicly released, although prosecutors will likely seek to try her as an adult considering the seriousness of the crime.

Jersey City, the state's second-largest municipality, has recorded more than a dozen homicides this year.

Sergio Bichao is deputy digital editor at New Jersey 101.5. Send him news tips: Call 609-775-9793 or email sergio.bichao@townsquaremedia.com.