The Westmoreland County District Attorney’s office is charging Maxwell Morton, 16, as an adult in the shooting death of Ryan Mangan, also 16, after Morton allegedly took a selfie with Mangan’s bloodied body.
The case is generating national headlines because the African American suspect allegedly posted a selfie on Snapchat with the body after shooting Mangan in the face.
The alleged selfie obtained by police showed Morton posing in front of Mangan’s body. A woman contacted police Thursday after her son received the Snapchat photo from Morton, police said.
The victim was found shot to death inside his mother’s Rankin Avenue home. Morton has been charged with criminal homicide and murder in the first degree.
Sources told Channel 11’s Joe Holden that Mangan was shot once in the head.
The selfie “depicted the victim sitting in the chair with a gunshot wound to the face,” according to a police affidavit. “It also depicts a black male taking the selfie with his face facing the camera and the victim behind the actor. The photo had the name ‘Maxwell’ across the top.”
The black male was identified by police as Morton and a search warrant was served Friday, the affidavit stated. During the search a .9 mm handgun was recovered and Morton confessed that he used it to shoot Mangan.