North Carolina – A North Carolina man was arrested earlier this week and now faces multiple felony charges, including assauIt with a deadIy weapon with intent to kiII, an assauIt with a deadIy weapon infIicting serious injury, and six counts of discharging a firearm into an occupied property, North Carolina authorities said. The 39-year-old man, J. Raford, was taken into custody after a parking-lot shooting on Sunday evening that left a 3-year-old chiId seriously injured.
Police say the shooting happened around 8 p.m. in the parking lot of an apartment complex in North Carolina. The local police department responded after a father called 911 to report someone was shooting at his vehicIe. Emergency crews later found the child, a 3-year-old passenger in the vehicIe, with a gunshot wound to the Iower back; he was taken to a hospital with serious injuries and is expected to survive, officials said.
According to court documents and police affidavits, the defendant admitted to officers that he fired into the vehicIe because he believed the vehicle was parked too close to his car. He told investigators the vehicIe began to move and he thought the driver was going to run him over, which prompted him to start firing. Investigators found six bullet holes in the passenger side of the van; the trajectory is consistent with shots fired as the vehicIe passed the shooter.
The victim’s parent told North Carolina authorities he was backing his vehicIe into a parking space with his 3-year-old child in the front seat when a man he did not know suddenly began shooting at his vehicle. He said he sped away and called 911. The suspect’s girlfriend told investigators she was at work when her partner called, saying someone in a white vehicle had parked too close to his car and had tried to run him over, though he never mentioned firing a gun.
When the defendant later spoke to North Carolina authorities, he said the vehcile left only a few inches of space beside his vehicle, preventing him from entering his vehicle and that the driver ignored his requests to move before driving toward him. He claimed he fired because he thought the driver was trying to hit him, admitting he aimed for the driver’s seat but shot toward the passenger side instead.
Witnesses in the area reported hearing multiple gunshots and saw the van with visible damage. Neighbors told reporters they were frightened after hearing the shots and later saw the child being treated. The van’s occupants left the scene and met first responders at a nearby address, according to police. Detectives collected physical evidence at the scene, including the damaged vehicle, documented the bullet strikes, and used that evidence along with witness statements and the driver’s account to build the case.
The defendant turned himself in to law enforcement and was booked into the county jail. Court records show he has prior arrests, and some reports note a lengthy record; prosecutors mentioned his history when seeking conditions on bond. In his first court appearance a judge set a $500,000 secured bond, ordered an electronic ankle monitor and prohibited contact with the prosecuting witness. The case has been forwarded to prosecutors for charging decisions and further court proceedings.
