Students left mementos along a fence near where Brenden Wilson, 16, was shot to death on Monday, close to Woodbridge High School. (T. Rees Shapiro/The Washington Post)

(Update: Two more arrested in killing of Woodbridge teen)

Neighborhood children call it “the Cut,” a strip of concrete that leads from Oakwood Drive through a small wooded area and up a set of stairs to Woodbridge Senior High School in Prince William County. Many students pass through on their way to and from classes each weekday.

But late Monday afternoon, the Cut turned into a grisly crime scene after a shooter killed a 16-year-old Woodbridge High student and then fled along the path to a waiting blue pickup truck on Oakwood. Brenden Wilson was found dead there about 4:30 p.m., his body atop strewn leaves just feet from the path and yards from the school and a row of residences, county police said.

On Tuesday night, police announced the arrest of Kawain Tyrell Smalls, 20, in the slaying and said the shooting was thought to be drug-related.

Brenden’s death was a stunning act of violence that shocked students who trickled past the scene to pay respects. It was the second homicide involving a Woodbridge High student in a little more than a year. Kenny Diaz, a football player, was killed in a park over a drug deal gone wrong in September 2013.

Law enforcement officials said that Brenden and Smalls knew each other. Smalls was arrested at his home on Dulcinea Place in Woodbridge, and police said the investigation was still ongoing.

Smalls has been convicted previously in Prince William of furnishing a weapon to a minor. On Tuesday, he was charged with murder and firearms violations.

Neighbors and fellow students said Brenden, who was over 6 feet tall and had broad shoulders, was known to residents in the community. He lived less than half a mile from the area where he died.

Keirsten Nelson, a junior at the school, said she saw Brenden in the cafeteria a few hours before he died. “It seemed like a regular day,” she said. “We were talking about Jordans and tattoos.”

She said he was smart but didn’t always come to school and knew about a lot of different things.

Keirsten’s mother, Elizabeth Nelson, also attended Woodbridge, as did her nine sisters and brother. The mother said news of the slaying was heartbreaking.

“These kids had two tragedies in two years,” she said. “It’s shocking to see that the area has gone down some.”

She said she feels reassured, though, that the shooting did not appear to be random. She also said teachers and coaches helped make the parents and students feel secure Monday. “I still feel safe,” she said.

“We are a close-knit community, and being Vikings, we’ll get through it,” she said, referring to the school.

A family member who answered the door at Brenden’s home declined to comment. Brittni Wilson, the victim’s sister, sent a message on social media indicating that the family wants to mourn in private.

On Tuesday afternoon, Brittni Wilson sat near the spot where her brother had died, with her head buried in her arms as she cried. Students left bouquets of flowers, a teddy bear and a balloon.

Nearby residents said they were still shaken by the rapid burst of gunfire that had marred a sunny fall afternoon.

“To have it happen in your own back yard, it’s unnerving,” said Jerry King, 70, whose home abuts the path and who saw the tail end of the shooting. He said he hardly slept Monday night. “It’s senseless. You don’t expect to see that happen in your own back yard.”

King, a retired engineer, said he was in his living room on a recliner watching Dr. Phil on television Monday afternoon when he heard three shots in quick succession about 4:30 p.m. He got up and walked toward the sliding glass doors that lead to his back porch and then heard four or five more shots.

“They were very loud. It was a big caliber, the way he ripped them off,” King said.

When he stepped outside, King saw a teenager in a bulky dark coat sprinting past his house on the popular path. King said other neighbors saw the teenager hop into an old blue pickup truck that appeared to be waiting on the street. The truck, with three teens inside, King said, headed south on Oakwood Drive before turning right onto Valleywood Drive.

King said he looked into the woods near the stairs and saw a teenager lying on his side, lifeless, less than 50 yards beyond his back door. He hustled back inside to call police.

King said the victim appeared familiar to him, and he thought he had seen the teenager the day before near the stairs that lead to Woodbridge High.

The pathway has become an increasing nuisance to neighbors, King said, adding that he has lived in his home for 42 years and has seen problems escalate. His daughters graduated from Woodbridge High before the pathway became popular.

King said that on some mornings, he has counted as many as 40 students hanging out in the woods off the path, often smoking. He said he has seen teenagers stopping to urinate along his fence, has seen students engaged in sex acts in the wooded area and has witnessed fights involving numerous students.

“My big question is: Why?” King said. “What’s the altercation that somebody had to pull out a gun and kill somebody?”

While Woodbridge High is known locally for its arts and engineering programs, it enjoyed a national spotlight last year when one of its students, senior Da'Shawn Hand, was named a top high school football recruit. Recruiters and reporters flocked to the school. The school just celebrated its 50th anniversary, making it one of the oldest in the county. It’s also one of the largest, with more than 2,800 students.

County leaders sought to assuage the concerns about violence at the school and in the Woodbridge community. Last month, federal authorities announced that a man allegedly was targeted by people associated with the Salvadoran gang MS-13 at Gar-Field High School after he left night classes. Brenden's death is the fifth homicide in Prince William this year. There were eight last year.

“We have not had a crime problem around Woodbridge High School or around our schools at all,” said Corey A. Stewart (R), a member of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors. “It clearly was not, does not appear to be a random act of violence. It just appears to be a premeditated act.”

On Tuesday, a day off for students, several came by to pay their respects to Brenden. Taylor Cain, 17, a Woodbridge senior, visited to leave the bouquet of roses. Police tape was bundled into a nearby trash can.

He said that he passed Brenden in the halls of Woodbridge High, where the victim was a junior. “It really could have been anybody,” he said. He and a friend left the roses on the fence, near a large patch of blood that had stained a pile of leaves bright red.

Michael Alison Chandler, Moriah Balingit and Alice Crites contributed to this report.