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'He played a big role' | 3rd arrest made in homicide of 10-year-old Makiyah Wilson

A third man was arrested in connection with the homicide, D.C. police chief Peter Newsham stated during a press conference on Wednesday.
Gregory Taylor, 23, of Fort Washington, was arrested in connection with the homicide of Makiyah Wilson. He has been charged with first-degree murder while armed.

WASHINGTON -- Police arrested a third person in connection with the fatal shooting of 10-year-old Makiyah Wilson.

The 10-year-old girl was killed on July 16 when a group of masked men pulled up to a courtyard in a black Infinity four-door sedan and fired into a crowd of people in Northeast D.C.

RELATED: VIDEO: 10-year-old Makiyah Wilson celebrates her birthday, days before being shot and killed

Gregory Taylor, 23, of Fort Washington, was arrested in connection with the homicide, D.C. police chief Peter Newsham said during a press conference on Wednesday. He has been charged with first-degree murder while armed.

Two others, including Quentin Michals, 21 and Qujuan Thomas, 20, were arrested back in August in connection with the homicide.

Video from Instagram appears to show the latest suspect accused of killing the 10-year-old girl.

The social media account was listed in court documents and linked to Gregory Taylor aka "Gizzle," the 23-year-old who is charged with murder.

Detectives called Donnetta Wilson, Makiyah’s mother, early Wednesday morning to break the news that Taylor was joining Quentin Michaels and Qujuan Thomas behind bars.

All three men are accused of killing Makiyah.

“She was precious. She was 10-years-old,” Wilson told WUSA9’s Michael Quander.

Makiyah died after a group of masked men were caught on video firing more than 70 gunshots into a crowd in DC’s Clay Terrace neighborhood.

That was 3 months ago on July 16th.

“This guy — he played a big role,” Wilson explained. “He played a big role. He is one that is supposed to — from my understanding— orchestrated a lot of big things.”

While Taylor’s charging documents were not public on Wednesday, he was named in court records for the other two suspects.

Court records indicated Taylor was involved in purchasing the car used in the shooting and sent a message to Quentin Michals on the day of the murder stating: “Let’s go do wat we do.”

Investigators also found messages between Taylor, Michals, and Thomas that showed Gregory Taylor had at least two of the guns used in the shooting

Thomas allegedly wrote, “Aye you got both da handguns?”

Police said Taylor responded, “under couch.”

“That’s my child,” Wilson said on Wednesday about Makiyah. “I never can get her back. I can never go visit her. I can’t. With them -- even though they’re going away for a long time, they’re still breathing. They still could talk to their mom. They still can have their mom. I can never do that again with Makiyah.”

Police said on Wednesday they are still searching for at least two more suspects connected to the case.

Taylor is expected to have his first court appearance on Thursday at 2:00 p.m.

Michals and Thomas are also expected back in court on Thursday morning for their preliminary hearings.

RELATED: Second person arrested in murder of 10-year-old Makiyah WilsonThe case remains under investigation.

At the request of MPD, the FBI Washington Field Office has offered an additional $20,000 to the reward of $25,000 for information which leads to an arrest and conviction of the suspects in this case. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the police at 202-727-9099. Additionally, anonymous information may be submitted to the department’s TEXT TIP LINE by sending a text message to 50411. Additionally, the public can contact the FBI Washington Field Office at (202) 278-2000 or submit a tip at https://tips.fbi.gov if you have any information about this case.

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