Jacob McMillan, 18, of Baldwin, charged in Hempstead killing of Monroe U. basketball player Amira McCleod

A Baldwin man has been charged in last month's fatal shooting of a 19-year-old woman at a house party in Hempstead, Nassau County police said Wednesday.

Jacob McMillan, 18, was arraigned Wednesday in First District Court in Hempstead on charges of second-degree murder and other counts for the fatal shooting of Monroe University basketball player Amira McCleod on Nov. 22, police said on Wednesday.

McCleod and McMillan did not know each other and never "shared a word and no more than a glance," prosecutors said.

Two Nassau Community College students, both identified by police only as 20-year-old men, were also shot and wounded. They have been discharged from the hospital, college vice president of community and governmental relations Jerry Kornbluth told Newsday.

McMillan was remanded to the Nassau County jail. Brian Carmody, McMillan's attorney, declined to comment.

The shooting took place just before 11 p.m. at a home near Willow and Kennedy avenues, where a party was being hosted, police said. McCleod was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics after she was shot in the head, court document said.

At McMillan's arraignment, prosecutors said McCleod, of Queens, who had a "promising basketball career," attended the party with friends to unwind and blow off steam. She had spent several hours at the party and planned on taking an Uber back to her New Rochelle dorm.

Det. Lt. George Darienzo of Nassau's Homicide Squad, said at a news conference in Mineola that the party was advertised to local college students through social media. About two dozen people attended and the house was rented by the host, police said. McCleod learned of the party through a friend. 

Prosecutors said McMillan was captured on surveillance on the night of Nov. 22 traveling with four friends to the party from the Baldwin Long Island Rail Road stop, taking a NICE bus, and walking to the house.

Footage from a neighbor's home surveillance system across the street captured McMillan being patted down by someone at the front of the house where the party was being hosted, according to prosecutors.

The footage showed McMillan appearing to refuse to be searched, pulling away from the individual attempting to pat him down and then pulling out the gun, prosecutors said.

McMillan fired twice, authorities said. One bullet hit the arm of the man who had been trying to pat him down, and the other hit a second man while McMillan was trying to flee from the scene. That shot grazed the second man and then hit McCleod.

McCleod was standing outside the home near the curb when she was shot, police said. The bullet struck her head, causing her death, according to court documents.

At the time of the shooting, investigators observed McMillan wearing a North Face jacket  that police said he was wearing when they arrested him Tuesday around 4 p.m.

While in police custody after the shooting, McMillan admitted to arriving at the party but said he entered the house alone, fled when he heard gunshots, and ordered an Uber to return to his Baldwin home, according to prosecutors.

He also said he dropped his cellphone, which police have recovered and will search once they obtain a warrant, prosecutors said.

McMilllan was also seen on doorbell footage wearing the same North Face jacket on Nov. 16 during a burglary at an Elmont home. During that incident, a screen to the victim’s bedroom window was ripped open and a PlayStation 5 was taken.

Police later recovered the PlayStation 5 console at McMillan’s home after executing a search warrant. He was charged with one count of second-degree burglary.

Police said they responded to the scene after an alert from ShotSpotter, a system that monitors an area for possible gunfire.

The shooting happened just days before McCleod's Bronx-based team was to play Suffolk County Community College in a basketball game in Selden.

McCleod was a sophomore guard for Monroe, and lived in the dorms on the New Rochelle campus.

School officials told Newsday that McCleod had hopes of one day opening her own clothing and sneaker store. 

In a statement after the arrest, Monroe University spokeswoman Jacqueline M. Ruegger said: "We are deeply grateful to the Nassau County Police Department for their diligent and swift work in apprehending a suspect in the tragic death of Amira McCleod. This development is a meaningful step forward, even as we recognize that the path ahead remains profoundly difficult for Amira’s family and all who loved her as they continue their pursuit of justice."

Newsday's John Valenti contributed to this story.