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       A 12-year-old boy was ordered held in a D.C. juvenile detention center Wednesday after a police detective, testifying before a judge, offered a detailed account of an attempted carjacking over the weekend that ended, authorities say, when the owner of the vehicle fatally shot the boy’s 13-year-old companion.

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       The incident, which illustrated the surging problem of carjackings in the District, especially by teenagers, occurred Saturday night in the 600 block of D Street NW, near D.C. Superior Court, where the 12-year-old appeared Wednesday before a juvenile court judge. Police said the boy and his companion, 13-year-old Vernard Toney Jr., approached an off-duty federal security officer who was sitting in a parked vehicle, waiting for his work shift to begin.

       D.C. police Detective Thomas O’Donnell told Judge Sherri Beatty-Arthur that investigators reviewed security videos of the incident.

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       O’Donnell said one of the videos shows the boys walking toward the vehicle about 10 p.m. Saturday. The video shows that when the pair approached the security officer, who works in courthouses and criminal justice offices in the area, they were grabbing at their waistbands, O’Donnell testified.

       The detective said the video shows the 13-year-old opening the vehicle’s front passenger door and getting inside. Later, according to authorities, the security officer told investigators the teen ordered him to “Get the f--- out. You know what this is.”

       The 12-year-old walked to the driver’s side, O’Donnell testified, citing the video. By this point, the security officer had exited the vehicle, O’Donnell said. He said the video shows the security officer drawing a handgun and firing once at the 13-year-old inside the vehicle. Later, according to authorities, the security officer told investigators he feared the boys were armed because they had grabbed at their waistbands.

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       The security officer said he did not see a gun, according to authorities, who said no weapon was recovered at the scene.

       O’Donnell said the video shows that after the shooting, the 12-year-old ran behind the vehicle and got the 13-year-old out of the front passenger seat. O’Donnell said the boys ran north on Seventh Street before the wounded one collapsed onto a sidewalk. The other boy kept running, O’Donnell said, and was not arrested until Tuesday.

       The 12-year-old, who pleaded not guilty Wednesday, initially was charged with armed carjacking. The judge found that there was insufficient evidence to show that the boy possessed a firearm during the incident, so she ordered him held on a charge of carjacking without the use of a gun. He was placed in the custody of the D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services and confined to a detention center pending prosecution.

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       The security officer has not been charged in connection with the shooting, which remains under investigation.

       Two police officials familiar with the 13-year-old’s criminal history said Monday that the boy had been arrested in May, at age 12, on nine carjacking, robbery and assault charges. A judge released him at that time into the custody of a parent or guardian to await prosecution, according to documents reviewed by The Washington Post. Some of the charges were later dropped.

       Juvenile court hearings in the District are restricted to immediate family members. The Post was permitted to attend Wednesday’s hearing on the condition that the 12-year-old’s identity not be revealed. The Post generally does not name defendants who are charged as juveniles in criminal cases.

       While searching for the 12-year-old, police released images of him taken from the video. O’Donnell said the boy’s mother saw her son on a “wanted” poster and called 911.

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       When police arrived at the mother’s home, they found a black hoodie, Nike sneakers and gray sweatpants in the boy’s room, O’Donnell testified. He said those items matched what is seen in the video.

       Beatty-Arthur said she was most disturbed by the 12-year-old’s background. A social worker told the judge that while this is the boy’s first arrest, his mother had sought psychological help for him in the past. He had been getting involved in physical altercations since age 5 and began smoking marijuana at 11, the social worker said, quoting the mother. The mother told officials that her son repeatedly stayed out past his curfew and had assaulted her.

       At the start of the hearing, the boy raised his right hand and swore to tell the truth. He told the judge he was 13. A court social worker told the judge that the boy is 12. The judge then looked at the youth and said, “Wow.”

       His mother sat there listening and wiping away tears.

       A defense lawyer asked Beatty-Arthur to release the boy into his mother’s custody. But the judge declined, saying she was concerned by a statement the boy made after his arrest, when he told police: “I know where I can get a gun.”

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