Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney said in a Thursday press conference that a grand jury found the two men who fired weapons in the Memorial Day weekend shooting death of a former Albany High School basketball star in Niskayuna were "legally justified" in defending themselves.

The Schenectady County grand jury found Wayne Brown, 18, and Pierre Thompson, 19, shot 21-year-old Ayanna Hunter to death on May 27 at the Hillcrest Village West apartment complex, "but that their actions were legally justified in defending themselves and others from Miss Hunter, who was the initial aggressor," Carney said.

Carney went on to say that Hunter was armed with a handgun when she went to a picnic at a pavilion at Hillcrest Village, and was feuding with people at the party, then later fired her gun "one or more times" at Brown. He returned fire, as did Thompson. Hunter died from the wound she suffered.

"When justification is raised as a defense, it is incumbent upon the prosecution to disprove it beyond a reasonable doubt. Because the grand jury ruled this to be a legally justifiable shooting, no homicide charges resulted," Carney said.

"There is no talk about these people. They're just victimizing my daughter," said Charisse Sellie, Hunter's mother.

After the press conference, Charisse called Carney's comments biased and untrue. She says the only statements came from Brown and Thompson, and their family and friends. 

"What about Pierre and Wayne? What about them? What about what they were doing? Why did they come to a cookout armed?" Charisse said.

Four individuals have been charged in connection with the shooting and a related incident on July 4 in Schenectady, in which Brown was shot by Hunter's 40-year-old stepfather, Jason Sellie, but no homicide charges will be brought.

Jason shot Brown on July 4, according to the indictment, and both Brown and Jason were wounded.

"He's twice as old as the others and should have known better than to take the law into his own hands," Carney said.

Charisse had no comment on Jason's charges.

Brown and Thompson face charges of criminal possession of a weapon and tampering with physical evidence, for removing their guns from the scene and hiding them from law enforcement. Thompson is also charged with criminal possession of a firearm at his Rotterdam home.

In addition, a sealed indictment charged a friend of Hunter, Angela Rondon, 26, with criminal possession of a weapon as Hunter's accomplice. She also faces a charge of reckless endangerment as well as tampering with evidence, removing Hunter's gun from the scene, and multiple felonies for allegedly encouraging Hunter to engage in the gun battle.

Again, Brown was found to be justified in the shooting. Brown faces another charge of criminal possession of a weapon for that incident, while Jason faces charges of attempted murder, attempted assault, criminal possession of a weapon, and assault.

Charisse says she wants people to know her daughter's life was not about guns and gang violence.

"Her life was about basketball, family. Her family was about uplifting her family and friends to do better," Charisse said.