A 17-year-old Michigan honor student was killed by two younger boys after he left a birthday party and offered them a ride home from the cold, authorities said.
Jack Snyder had just left his girlfriend’s birthday party on Feb. 17 in Battle Creek when he offered two children, ages 14 and 13, a ride in sub-zero temperatures, according to WZZM-13.
He didn’t know the youths, who then allegedly tried to recruit Snyder — and then fatally shot him when he resisted, authorities said.
The Calhoun County District Attorney’s Office charged Justice Chimner, 14, as an adult with felony murder, auto theft and two weapons-related violations, Fox-17 reported. He faces up to life in prison.
The 13-year-old suspect, who has not been publicly identified, has been charged with murder, first-degree felony murder and carjacking. Both teenagers are being held without bond in a youth detention center.
Snyder’s desire to help teenagers led to his death, Battle Creek Police Sergeant Jeff Case said, according to the Daily Mail.
“The victim was trying to be a good Samaritan by giving him a ride in the freezing temperatures,” he said. “I know he resisted the carjacking. So again, he was trying to help, but he wasn’t just going to give the car away.”
Snyder, a senior at Battle Creek Central High School, was a “light-hearted, charismatic, athletic and humorous” student athlete who was a member of the National Honor Society and played varsity football, according to his obituary.
