Police arrested a former high school football player for allegedly shooting and killing his girlfriend in a Maryland home.
Jamal Speaks, 19, faces murder and assault charges, according to a statement from Prince George’s County Police Department Friday. The victim was 18-year-old Saniyah Floyd.
A family friend of Saniyah Floyd just shared this photo of her. @PGPDNews say the 18-year-old was killed by her boyfriend, Jamal Speaks.
Police say Speaks had been playing with a gun he bought illegally when he accidentally shot Floyd – then he allegedly tried to cover it up. pic.twitter.com/PfOiLZ9wIs— Heather Graf (@ABC7HeatherGraf) May 4, 2019
Speaks allegedly fired the weapon that hit Floyd around 10:30 p.m. on April 7. He reportedly bought the gun illegally and played with it throughout the day, the statement said.
Floyd was pronounced dead at the scene. (RELATED: High School Student Allegedly Kneed, Kicked Police Officer In The Face)
“Initially, responding officers and detectives were advised by witnesses that the victim accidentally shot herself,” according to the statement. “An autopsy revealed that her wound could not have been self-inflicted, and the medical examiner ruled her death a homicide.”
Speaks allegedly made it seem like Floyd shot herself by placing the gun in her hand, police said.
He is in custody on a “no-bond status.”
Speaks made headlines in 2018 after being kicked off Ballou High School’s football team over residency concerns, WJLA reported. The then-18-year-old student was homeless in Washington, D.C., sleeping on a friend’s couch and did not have parental support.
Temple University in Pennsylvania recruited Speaks and gave him a scholarship offer in 2018. Speaks, however, did not end up enrolling at the university, according to WJLA.
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