November 26, 2022
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
A Bensalem teenager was arrested for the shooting death of a 13-year-old girl after calling a friend on Instagram and asking for help disposing of the body. Joshua Cooper was charged with criminal homicide.
A 16-year-old boy was arrested in Bensalem late Friday night for the shooting death of a teenage girl.
Joshua Cooper was taken into police custody after the body of a 13-year-old girl was found in a trailer park home, according to Courier Times.
Cooper allegedly shot the victim in the chest at his home before calling a friend on Instagram and asking for help disposing of the body. The friend then told her mother, who immediately called the police.
While on the Instagram call, Cooper allegedly showed his friend the victim's legs and feet covered in blood.
Police arrived to a trailer home at the 1400 block of Gibson Rd. when Cooper was seen running out of the back of the trailer.
He was apprehended near Newport Mews Dr. and Groton Dr.
According to Bensalem Township police, the crime scene had been tampered with, and it was clear that someone had tried to clean up any evidence.
William McVey, the director of public safety in Bensalem, said there is currently no known motive for the incident, and there is an ongoing investigation.
A gun was recovered from the scene, and police are tracing it back to an owner and looking into how Cooper got access to the weapon.
Cooper was charged with homicide, possession of an instrument of a crime, and tampering with evidence. He will be charged as an adult and was booked at Edison Juvenile Detention Center in Doylestown without bail.
