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Man Charged in Death of 9-Year-Old Girl in Ferguson

De'Eris Brown has been charged with second-degree murder of Jamyla Bolden.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A suburban St. Louis man was charged Thursday with killing a 9-year-old girl who was sitting on her mother's bed doing her homework when shots were fired into her home.

St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch charged De'Eris Brown, 21, of O'Fallon, Missouri, with second-degree murder in the Aug. 18 killing of Jamyla Bolden. Brown also faces three counts of armed criminal action and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon by shooting at a building.

In a probable cause statement, Ferguson officer William Ballard said Brown fired through a bedroom window. A witness identified Brown as the shooter, and he allegedly confessed. Police did not immediately release a possible motive for the shooting.

Brown does not have a listed attorney who could comment on the allegations.

Jamyla's death resonated throughout the St. Louis area, prompting a vigil and calls for an end to violence, especially in predominantly black areas of the region. Jamyla was black, as is her alleged assailant, and the girl lived in a predominantly African-America neighborhood.

Jamyla was a fourth-grader at Koch Elementary School. Her funeral is Saturday.

Police have said they don't know if the shots were fired from a car or from someone standing outside the home. A motive for the shooting was also unknown. Police were expected to discuss the case at a late-afternoon news conference.

Jamyla's mother was struck in the leg and is recovering.

The shooting happened at a small ranch-style home a few blocks from where 18-year-old Michael Brown was fatally shot by police officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9, 2014. A grand jury and the U.S. Department of Justice declined to indict Wilson, but the shooting sparked sometimes violent protests and helped spur a national "Black Lives Matter" movement.

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(Photo: Jamyla Bolden Family)

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