Teen girl, 15, gunned down in car — NJ 17-year-old now charged as adult

💔 Cianna Lee, 15, was fatally shot while in a car in Jersey City.
⚖️ 17-year-old Willie Shuler is tried as an adult, faces murder and weapon charges.
🌎 From Jamaica to Jersey: Teen moved to the U.S. for a better life, before her death

JERSEY CITY — A 17-year-old male accused of shooting and killing a 15-year-old girl as she sat in a car with a relative has been waived up to criminal court and will be tried as an adult.

Willie Shuler, of Jersey City, has been charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder, as well as second-degree counts of aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon.

Cianna Lee, of Jersey City, was struck by a bullet just after 11 p.m. on Jan.18, while sitting in a car on Oak Street, Acting Hudson County Prosecutor Wayne Mello said.

Jersey City police were called to the scene and Lee was rushed to Jersey City Medical Center where she was pronounced dead just over two hours later.

Deadly shooting on Oak Street shocks Jersey City neighborhood

Also shot and wounded was a 37-year-old female relative in the car — identified in a GoFundMe campaign for the grieving family as Lee’s stepmother.

Lee was born in Jamaica and moved to the U.S. "to be with her father and to pursue greater opportunities for her future," the same fundraiser said.

Read More: How will 14-year-old charged in murder of Newark cop be tried? 

Under New Jersey law, juveniles younger than 15 cannot be tried as adults for any offense.

The minimum age for waiving a teen to criminal court came up in March, when a 14-year-old was arrested for shooting and killing Newark police officer Det. Joseph Azcona.

Another case being scrutinized over the age of the defendant has been the Cranford double homicide of two teen victims.

Read More: What we know about the teen charged with killing 2 Cranford girls

On Sept. 29, Cranford High School juniors Maria Niotis and Isabella Salas were struck and killed by a Jeep traveling 70 mph in a 25-mph residential street.

Prosecutors have said the accused driver, a 17-year-old Garwood resident, deliberately targeted the girls as they rode their e-bike.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom