19-year-old charged with murder after Lexington high school student was shot, killed

A 19-year-old man has been arrested in connection to a shooting that left another teenager dead, police announced Wednesday morning.

Stewart Watson, 19, was charged with murder and first-degree robbery, police said. He is accused of shooting and killing 16-year-old Michael Stinnett.

The shooting took place Friday in the 1600 block of Summerhill Drive, according to police. It happened along a bike path near the corner of Summerhill and Woodspring drives, which is just off Armstrong Mill Road near Seton Catholic School.

Stinnett was declared dead on scene, the Fayette County Coroner’s Office said. Two other people, both 19-year-old men, were shot and taken to a local hospital. One was in critical condition, police said in a news release late Friday, while the other had injuries that were not life-threatening.

Police said Wednesday they didn’t have any update on the status of the victim who was in critical condition.

Stinnett was a student at Bryan Station High School, a Fayette County Schools spokesperson confirmed. A GoFundMe page was setup to help pay for Stinnett’s funeral expenses.

Sarah Cruz, the page’s organizer, said Stinnett was a sweet-hearted person who had a lot of potential. Cruz said on the page that it was “painful” to lose him.

“Michael was one of the best ones,” Cruz wrote.

Stinnett’s death marked the city’s seventh homicide of 2023.

Watson was in custody Wednesday morning, according to police.