An 8-year-old boy on vacation with his family in South Carolina was shot on Saturday by a man shooting randomly at passing vehicles.
According to NBC News, Quarius Naqua Dunham, a student from Portsmouth, New Hampshire was shot in the neck. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital on Monday. Quarius’ dad, who was driving the car, was shot in his thigh during the incident, he is expected to survive.
Florence County Sheriff’s office said the shooter, Charles Montgomery Allen,40, thought people were “out to get him.” He shot up the walls of his own home before he began shooting at random vehicles outside his home around 2 p.m. He reportedly shot at two other vehicles before hitting the Dunhams’ car.
Allen was taken into custody and charged with one count of murder, one count of attempted murder, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime and four counts of discharging a firearm into a vehicle.
He is being held without bail at the Florence County Detention Center, according to NBC Boston.
Portsmouth Schools Superintendent Steve Zadravec said in a statement that Quarius, a third grade student at Little Harbour School in Portsmouth was on vacation when he was murdered.
“His family was on vacation and were victims of a random shooting in South Carolina,” Zadravec said. “An event like this touches our community as a whole. Our hearts are with the family as we support each other through this unbelievable tragedy.”
“You go on vacation to make memories that last a lifetime with your kids, and for this tragedy to befall this family, I was just sick to my stomach,” Portsmouth Mayor Deaglan McEachern told NBC.
