The suspects in the Sunday evening shooting death of 14-year-old boy Nicholas Fomby-Davis were held without bail at prosecutors’ request, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said, noting that the slain boy was “a truly innocent victim.”

JOSHUA FERNANDES (D.O.B. 8/8/93 and CRISOSTOMO LOPES (D.O.B. 2/27/90), both of Dorchester, were formally charged in Dorchester District Court with Fomby-Davis’ murder. Fernandes was additionally charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and discharging a firearm within 500’ of a dwelling. Pleas of not guilty were automatically entered by the court.

“Absolutely nothing we’ve learned suggests that Nicholas was involved in gang activity,” Conley said. “The motive for his murder remains under investigation, but this child had no connection with the violence that took his life.”

Speaking at arraignment, Assistant District Attorney Patrick Haggan told the court that an off-duty Boston Police officer was in his personal vehicle in the area of Bowdoin and Olney streets at around 7:45 Sunday evening when he observed Fernandes and Lopes.

The officer observed the pair to be “acting suspiciously” and crouching down as if watching and preparing for something. The officer at that moment saw Fomby-Davis coming down Olney Street on a scooter.

Within the span of seconds, Lopes allegedly approached the scooter, stopped it by grabbing the handlebars, then took Fomby-Davis by the chest and removed him from it, “extending his arm out as if holding a target,” Haggan said. At that moment, Haggan said, Fernandes fired.

Fernandes loosed at least three shots from a .25 caliber semiautomatic handgun, Haggan said. Two of those rounds struck Fomby-Davis, one of which left the boy “mortally wounded” with a gunshot wound to his chest as he stumbled across the street, the prosecutor said. Both suspects fled on foot.

The officer who saw the incident unfold broadcast his location, drew his firearm, and began chasing Fernandes. A short distance away, he observed Fernandes crouch down as if hiding something. With the assistance of other responding units, the officer arrested Fernandes and Lopes, who returned to the scene.

Upon his arrest, Lopes allegedly hurled expletives and said, “You’ll catch one, too” to the officer. Police recovered a firearm from the area in which Fernandes was seen crouching; that firearm was tested and found to be ballistically consistent with evidence at the murder scene.

In the aftermath of his arrest, Haggan said, Fernandes gave a post-Miranda statement with his parents present. Fernandes allegedly denied involvement in or knowledge of the homicide, but later told investigators that “someone came at him on a moped” and that he “blacked out and didn’t remember anything.”

“No case ends at arraignment,” Conley said. “We still need information from the public, on Nicholas’ murder and in others that haven’t yielded arrests yet. Members of the community who are fed up with this violence can help us stop it by telling investigators what they’ve seen and what they’ve heard about the violence that’s already taken too many lives.”

Fernandes was represented today by attorney John Palmer. Lopes was represented by attorney Christopher Belezos. Judge Rosalind Miller ordered both men to return to court on July 9.