A Fort Knox, Kentucky, soldier is in a Hardin County jail following an April 23 arrest in connection with the shooting death of a teenage boy in Indiana, an Army spokesman confirmed to Army Times on Wednesday.

Sgt. German Parra, 26, is one of two suspects in the death of 16-year-old Xavier Weir, the Indianapolis Star reported on Tuesday. He faces preliminary charges of murder and criminal recklessness, Fox59 TV reported.

“I’m happy that they caught the guy but my son is never coming back,” Michelle Raines, Weir’s mother, said at a Tuesday press conference in front of Beech Grove, Indiana’s city hall. “He’s 26 years old. He took my kid and he protects the country. He’s a monster.”

Parra is a military police officer with the 34th Military Police Detachment at Knox, garrison spokesman Kyle Hodges said.

An Indianapolis native, Parra joined the Army in 2012 and has been with his unit since last October.

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According to police, Parra and 16-year-old Isaiha Funez, also facing a murder charge, followed Weir to a Beech Grove home and opened fire. Funez told authorities that Parra had planned to rob Weir, who had advertised on Snapchat that he had marijuana and THC cartridges for sale, flashing cash in the clip.

Multiple witnesses identified Parra, known to them as “the Army guy,” as the driver of the blue Subaru who started the shooting.

Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.

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