Tyrin Anthony Zah'rel Washington, 20, turned himself in Monday morning, according to Clayton police. He is facing an involuntary manslaughter charge
A prosecutor said in court that she didn't want to share much about the case and where the investigation stands, but she did say additional charges could be filed.
During the hearing, Washington asked for a court-appointed attorney.
The incident unfolded Friday around 5:30 p.m. when police officers responded to a call about a fight involving weapons in the 300 block of Commodore Street.
When officers arrived, several people ran away; however, police were able to interview some witnesses.
Officers then saw several people running from an apartment, yelling that someone had been shot.
Officers went inside the apartment and found that 12-year-old Kyrell Stewart had been shot. The child died at the scene.
Download the ABC11 App for Breaking News Alerts
Police said they believed about 20-30 people were inside the apartment at the time, including other children.
"This case would allege there were multiple juveniles around at the time (of the shooting)," a prosecutor said in court Tuesday.
Witnesses told investigators that some people were trying to hide weapons from officers, and one of the weapons went off and hit Kyrell.
After further investigation, officers believe that Washington had the weapon in his hand when it went off.
ABC11 has learned that Washington has three other pending cases against him in Johnston County and was out of jail on bond when Kyrell was shot and killed.
Washington posted a $2,000 bond in July. In that case, Selma Police said Washington was "pointing a gun" and "knowingly" helped someone "escaping arrest."
Several of Washington's family members were in court Tuesday. His grandmother spoke briefly with ABC11 after the hearing but did not wish to comment on the shooting.
SEE ALSO | 1 dead, 2 hurt after separate shootings in same area of Harnett County