The 24-year-old man suspected of fatally shooting a 16-year-old girl in her East Flatbush apartment has turned himself in, according to police. 

They say the suspect surrendered Thursday evening.

As News 12 has reported, police were seeking Taariq Stephens after Shemel Mercurius was found with a gunshot wound around 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Mercurius was baby-sitting her 3-year-old cousin at the time. Police say she told them who shot her moments before she lost consciousness. She was taken to Kings County Hospital, where she died. 

Surveillance video taken outside the apartment appears to show Stephens with a gun moments before the shooting.

Police initially said they were searching for her boyfriend, but now say that based on text messages, they do not believe the two were involved in a romantic relationship. They did say that the two knew each other.

"It was reported that it was a romantic relationship," says NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce. "She names him Taariq -- she does not say it's her boyfriend."

Police say Stephens has six prior arrests and lives up the street from the crime scene on Brooklyn Avenue.