VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The 18-year-old shot and injured outside the Virginia Beach Summer Carnival over Memorial Day weekend is now facing a felony charge in connection to the incident, authorities confirmed.
Markal Cook, 18, was arrested on May 29 — four days after the deadly shooting near Mount Trashmore Park — on a felony unlawful carrying of a concealed weapon charge, according to the Virginia Beach Police Department (VBPD). This is Cook's third offense.
In a jailhouse interview with 13News Now, Cook flatly denied any involvement in the shooting that claimed 15-year-old Jeyani Upshur's life, saying he did not even bring a gun to the carnival. He said he went there to enjoy the night with his niece.
"When the first two shots were let off the girl ended up falling and landing almost on me and I'm pinning her down. Shots was still going off and after that I ran off and then realized I was shot and I collapsed," he said.
Cook said he was shot in the back and the bullet traveled underneath his underarm. He said he has been cooperating with police from the hospital when they arrested him four days after the shooting.
However, Virginia Beach police tell a different story. According to court documents, there is alleged video evidence showing Cook "taking a pistol from a concealed location and firing into a crowd."
Cook said detectives showed him the video, but he said it only shows the chaos of that night.
"The video that they showed me was a video off Instagram and it just shows shots being let off, and you don't see me or the little girl who got shot."
This is not the first time Cook has had a run-in with police. He has two prior convictions for the same charge of concealing a weapon.
However, Cook said he is trying to move on from his past and again denied ever bringing a gun to Mount Trashmore.
"Just because they can't find anybody or wrongly accusing me or thinking that I am lying to them, and since they don't have anyone they are trying to pin it on me - when they are really wrongly accusing the wrong guy."
VBPD said the investigation is ongoing.
Jeyani, a Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) student, was also shot that night in the parking lot near Mount Trashmore Park but she ultimately died from her injuries. This past weekend, a candlelight vigil honored Jeyani by wearing green and purple.
Keith Heckstall, a friend of Jeyani’s father, spoke on behalf of the family Sunday evening, saying after he found out about the shooting, “I immediately contacted him to comfort him as much as I possibly could, but there’s not much you can say in a situation like that.”
In the days following the May 25 shooting, VBPD Chief Paul Neudigate said people were misleading investigators. During that press conference, Chief Neudigate said authorities no longer believed the shooting stemmed from an earlier fight on carnival grounds.
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"We have a 15-year-old that lost her life and we have been lied to repeatedly by the individuals that were there," Neudigate told council members. "No one has come forward to be an independent eyewitness and if anything, they have provided information to the contrary. So, they have made trying to bring justice to these families incredibly difficult for us."
So far no one has been arrested for Jeyani's death.
Both teenage victims were taken to the hospital for treatment where VBPD said the girl succumbed to her injuries. The 18-year-old man was initially considered to be in critical condition but was later downgraded to serious condition.
If you have any information that may help police in the Mount Trashmore investigation, you're asked to call Virginia Beach Crime Solvers at 1-888-562-5887 or submit a tip online at P3Tips.com.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.