11-Year-Old North Carolina Boy In Custody For Fatally Shooting 8-Year-Old Girl

An 11-year-old is in custody, accused of fatally shooting an 8-year-old girl staying at his house in July. 

The boy was detained by the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office and then turned over to Juvenile Justice on Friday, according to ABC11. Investigators say there is enough evidence to charge him with manslaughter and two counts of larceny of a firearm.

The state’s juvenile justice division will decide future actions on the case.  

Jenesis Dockery was staying at her babysitter’s house last month when the babysitter’s son got a gun and shot her in the head. The babysitter was a longtime friend of the Dockery’s and had watched her and her 5-year-old sister numerous times. 

Harry Daniels, the family’s attorney, told the outlet that multiple social media posts showed the juvenile suspect with guns. The boy allegedly stole two guns from a relative’s safe. Those firearms are now part of the case. 

Daniel said it is possible that more arrests are coming and that the adults responsible for the guns could also face charges. 

In the meantime, Dockery’s family is left reeling from her death. 

“This has been a horrible nightmare; still doesn’t feel real,” her father, Fon Dockery, said. “It’s hard to put into words how we’re trying to navigate, three weeks later, for something to be done.”

He said the family wore gun violence awareness pins on the day of his daughter’s funeral and asked that justice be served.

“We wore orange pins on the day we buried our daughter — for gun violence awareness,” Dockery continued. “Because as much as we want justice for our daughter, this is something no parent should ever have to do.” 

He added, “We thank the community, and we ask that you continue to support and continue to reach out until the full hand of the law is exacted with justice for our Jenesis.”