Young girl killed in possible drive-by shooting

STATESVILLE, N.C. (WBTV) - Three children were shot, and one died, in two separate shootings Monday evening in a Statesville neighborhood, according to police.

Police responded to a shooting just before 7 p.m. on Wilson Lee Boulevard in Statesville. An 8-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy were found with gunshot wounds suffered from a possible drive-by shooting.

Both children were taken to the hospital. The girl died, while the boy is still being treated for his injuries, according to officials.

Witnesses told police that a white car, possibly a Mercedes. was seen with a person shooting from inside the car.

As officers were investigating, police heard gunshots around 8:30 p.m. on nearby Newbern Avenue. Police say a 10-year-old child was injured in another potential drive-by shooting.

The 10-year-old is expected to be OK.

Witnesses told police a white possible Honda Accord drove by with a subject shooting from inside the car.

WBTV was at the scene and saw an officer in tactical gear.

“We are actively investigating these cases and asking if anyone has information regarding these violent crimes, please contact the Statesville Police Department,” Statesville police said. “If you saw the murder of this innocent child and injuries to the other innocent children, you must help in solving these cases. If you have evidence or information regarding the shooters, please contact us. We do not believe the children were the intended targets.”

One man told WBTV he performed CPR on a child who had been shot.

“Then all a sudden, we seen two cars speeding by,” Statesville resident Anthony Caldwell said. “It sounded almost like fireworks. It was high-powered weapons. Whenever I came around the corner, I heard a bunch of adults screaming and crying, talking about, ‘the kids, the kids.’

“I then tried to administer first aid, first response CPR until the medical EMTs or the police stations arrived. After that, I got out of the way and let them do their job.”

Kendalen Howell said her granddaughter, Ah’miyahh Howell, was the child who was killed in the shooting. She claimed Ah’miyahh was only eight years old and had not yet turned nine. She described her granddaughter as a smart, sassy little girl who enjoyed the social media app TikTok.

“It makes me upset that you took my granddaughter away from me. She didn’t even get to live her life. She didn’t get to grow up,” said Kendalen Howell in an interview with WBTV.

She said she was not sure who was responsible for the gunfire, and didn’t know why people were firing in the direction of children.

“Why would you come by shooting, doing a drive-by, shooting at innocent kids, kids sitting outside playing, harmless kids?” questioned Howell.

The girl’s aunt, Candra Howell, said the shooting started without any warning.

“The gunshots hitting my house like crazy,” she said.

A neighbor thought there were at least two dozen shots fired.

In Candra’s front yard, several kids who were playing started to run.

“Whoever fired the shots had to have seen the children,” Candra Howell said. “They still fired.”

Candra hopes authorities can find whoever did it.

“They need to go down, they need to get every last one of them,” she said.

Police say no arrests have been made.

No other information was provided.

Check back with WBTV News for updates on this story.

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