An 8-year-old boy from New Hampshire has died after being the victim of a random shooting while on vacation with his father in South Carolina.
The pair were driving down a rural road in Florence County when their vehicle was shot at by a man indiscriminately firing at cars that were passing by the woods near his house, authorities said.
Quarius Naqua Dunham died on Sunday after being taken off of life support. He was shot in the neck and had been in critical condition since the shooting Saturday.
Dunham’s father, who was driving, was shot in the leg but is expected to recover, Florence County Coroner Keith von Lutcken said.
After a brief standoff with law enforcement, Charles Montgomery Allen was arrested in the woods near the scene of the shooting. Allen, 40, has been charged with murder, attempted murder and four counts of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle, according to Florence County Sheriff T.J. Joye.
Investigators said that Allen shot up the walls of his home before starting to shoot at cars and that he believed people were “out to get him,” NBC Boston reported.
No official motive has been announced but Joye said that he suspects Allen was high on drugs at the time. The Sheriff also revealed that law enforcement has dealt with Allen in the past.
“He’s got a history,” Joye told TV station WBTW. “He’s incarcerated now without incident. Just a senseless, senseless act.”
Allen is behind bars and no bail has been set for his release. Jail records didn’t show if he is being represented by a lawyer.
Allen shot two other cars before striking the vehicle that Dunham and his father were in.
One of the other drivers that was shot at attended Allen’s bond hearing. He said that one of Allen’s rounds hit the roof of his car.
“I noticed the gentleman was taking aim and I said, ‘He’s going to shoot again,’ so I ducked and stepped on the accelerator to get past him and he shot again,” Calvin Cade said.
Dunham was a Grade 3 student at Little Harbour School in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
“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,” wrote Portsmouth schools superintendent Steve Zadravec in a statement on Monday.
Portsmouth’s mayor, Deaglan McEachern, said, “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.”