North Carolina Shooting: 7-Year-Old Boy Shot Dead During Birthday Celebrations, 3 Others Injured


A 7-year-old boy was killed while three others were wounded in what is being reported as a shooting incident in South Charlotte, North Carolina.

According to ABC News, the shooting happened during a birthday party celebration at around 9 p.m. on Saturday. The shooting took place in the front yard of a home. Another child and two adults were also injured in the shooting. Their injuries, however, are not of a life-threatening nature, confirmed Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Deputy Chief Jeff Estes. The 7-year-old boy was later identified as Kevin Antonio Calderon Rodas. Following the shooting, Kevin was rushed to a nearby hospital where he later died.

The investigation is still on to find the gunman who was behind the fatal shooting. Police officials confirmed that they were using dog squads and helicopters to look for the suspect in the vicinity. They have also asked witnesses to come forward to reveal more details, an NBC News report said.

The killing of the 7-year-old comes in the same weekend where another three shooting incidents were reported from North Carolina in the span of a few hours. In a news conference on Sunday, Estes expressed his anguish over the killings.

“It’s a sad state of affairs in the city and our country when a 7-year-old boy can’t be free to celebrate a birthday party without being murdered,” he said.

The motive behind the latest North Carolina shooting incident remains a mystery. Seeing a rise in the spate of violence, officers were called in from days off and vacation to aid in the investigation process.

“We think it is an absolute tragedy that in Charlotte-Mecklenburg we are seeing this type of violence,” Estes said. “We will not rest or not stop until we do everything we can to put a stop to it.”

Other incidents of violence reported from North Carolina included another shooting incident where a woman was found dead from gunshot wounds — not far from the neighborhood where the 7-year-old was shot. Another man was also injured in the same incident, which is now being investigated as a drive-by shooting case. At this stage, there is no evidence to connect all of the shooting incidents in North Carolina.

In yet another shooting incident, a man was found dead — again from gunshot wounds early Sunday morning in east Charlotte. Before that, on Saturday, a man was admitted to a Charlotte hospital, where he later died from gunshot wounds.

[Image Via Law Enforcement Today]

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