A New Jersey teenager has been arrested in the shooting death of a high school senior who was killed just hours after he received his diploma at his graduation ceremony, prosecutors say.
Casey Cole, 18, of Wayne, N.J. faces murder and robbery charges in the killing of Isaac Rinas, also 18. The Passaic County prosecutor's office says Cole shot Rinas in the neck inside Rinas' vehicle in Paterson, N.J.
Rinas walked the stage in a cap and gown at Wayne Valley High School Wednesday, then made a trip to nearby Paterson, N.J., according to authorities. Rinas stopped his Infiniti in front of a building on Fair Street, and an armed man entered his car and demanded money.
Prosecutors have not said why Rinas was targeted or why he stopped in Paterson. Another teen who was in the car with Rinas was not injured.
Bail has been set for Cole at $2 million. Attorney information was not immediately available.
Friends and family gathered at Rinas' home Thursday night to remember the graduate who they said loved football, his family and friends.
"He was happy. He was thrilled," said one classmate. "Everyone was thrilled to graduate, to party. He was a great guy."
"He was a very friendly person," said another friend, Manny Espinal. "If you got to know him, you would know he was a very caring guy."
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