Jenesis Dockery 8 year old girl shot dead by Fayetteville, North Carolina babysitter’s 11 year old son previously seen holding guns on social media. Prosecutors weigh whether to charge the child with manslaughter along with possible charges against all adults involved.
In search of answers and justice. How did a 11 year old boy have access to a gun and why was he repeatedly allowed access to such weapons?
An 11-year-old North Carolina boy could face manslaughter charges after he allegedly fatally shot an 8-year-old girl his mother was babysitting with a relative’s gun. The same gun that the boy had previously been seen brandishing on social media.
Jenesis Dockery was shot on July 23 in Fayetteville, N.C, just an hour after her father dropped her off at the nanny’s home with her five-year-old sister.
Investigators say enough evidence exists for 11 year old boy to be charged with manslaughter
The babysitter’s son allegedly got his hands on the gun after stealing it from a relative’s safe. The 8 year old who was shot in the head was rushed to hospital but died two days later.
The unidentified 11-year-old was taken into custody Friday. The boy has not yet been charged, but investigators believe there’s enough evidence to charge him with manslaughter and two counts of larceny of a firearm, according to WRAL.
The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office has filed paperwork to the Department of Juvenile Justice to encourage charging the boy. They are also seeking secured custody.
The boy is currently in the custody of the Department of Juvenile Detention.
History of shared images of boy holding guns on social media
It remained unclear if any of the adults involved in the supervision of the boy along with the gun owners would also face charges. The identity of the babysitter, the 11 year old boy’s mother had to date not been made public.
A friend of the babysitter maintained that the shooting had been accidental, while declining to say whether it could have been prevented.
Dockery and her sister had been watched by the 11-year-old’s relative on multiple occasions, the girl’s father Fon Dockery told WRAL.
The boy allegedly stole the guns out of a safe in the babysitter’s home, the Dockery family lawyer, Harry Daniels, said at a press conference.
But there’s more.
The boy had been seen holding guns in photos posted on social media prior to the shooting. It remained unclear on whose pages the boy had been shared holding weapons and whether the same gun used in Dockery’s shooting death had been shared along with what other guns the boy had access to.
Daniels also said the safe was unlocked and the boy knew its combination.
Recurring gun violence
Dockery’s family recalled her as a ‘joyful, energetic child with Jesus in her heart and a perfect smile on her face,’ on a GoFundMe page.
‘My daughter’s life was tragically taken,’ Fon told WNCN. ‘It hurt my heart to think that I would be in a situation where I would have to comfort my youngest daughter.
‘This has been a horrible nightmare, still doesn’t feel real,’ he continued. ‘She wanted to dance and just live life, man. She loved making TikTok videos.’
The family wore orange pins to Dockery’s funeral, which symbolize gun violence awareness.
‘Because as much as we want justice for our daughter, this is something no parent should ever have to do,’ her father said.
Data shows that there have bene 49 unintentional shootings by children in North Carolina since 2015, of which 19 resulted in deaths.
