40 shots fired at Charlotte birthday party, 7-year-old killed
CHARLOTTE, NC -- The birthday party that seven-year-old Kevin Antonio Rodas attended Saturday was a last minute get-together for family. Kevin's mother was getting ready to leave the party but decided to stay a little bit longer because she wanted her son to get some candy from the pinata, which had yet to be broken -- reports CBS affiliate WBTV -- but that decision to stay turned out to be a deadly one for Kevin.
According to the station, when the pinata broke, gun violence broke out, too.
"When the pinata finally broke, that's when the first six shots rang out," said Jose Gamez, who hosted the birthday party for his two-year-old daughter. "Everybody thought it was fireworks but when we felt the bullets almost hit our feet -- they were so close -- they finally figured out there were bullets that were actually striking and everybody tried to cover the children first and they ran inside."
However, not everyone was able to dodge the gunfire. According to family members, about 40 shots were fired, and police and relatives said four people were hit.
According to the station, no one was able to reach Kevin Antonio Rodas in time, and he was shot in the head. Gamez said relatives scooped up the little boy to rush him to a hospital and they reportedly flagged down police officers who were responding to the shooting.
However, the seven-year-old did not survive.
Three other people were wounded, not seriously, according to WBTV.
"You would think a birthday party would be a fun place to be, to be gathered around your family," said Analyssa Lopez, who is Kevin's cousin. "You never expect something so tragic to happen in such a quick instance."
Forty-eight hours after the shooting, the family remains dazed.
"I'm feeling distraught. I mean, it's a hard thing. I don't wish this for any family at all," Lopez said. "This was a child. He had his life before him."
According to the station, Lopez said her little seven year old cousin was "a joyful boy. Smart. He was so caring, he cared for all of his cousins the same way."
The child's murder was too much for his mother to take, and she is reportedly in the hospital overcome with grief, and her blood pressure high, according to the Charlotte station.
"His mother right now -- she's just playing back all the fun memories she has with him," Lopez said.
As Kevin's family plans his funeral, they're turning to the community for help. Relatives reportedly said his mother cannot afford burial costs so they started a GoFundMe account to raise money, located here.
They're also hoping the community will step forward and deliver the shooter to police.
"Turn yourself in. God's watching over you wherever you are," she said according to the station. "Clean out your conscience. Do the right thing."
Jose Gamez -- the cousin who was hosting the birthday party for his 2-year-old daughter -- keeps replaying the night, reports that station, saying he doesn't understand why someone would shoot at the house.
"Everything was going fine. No one was drinking. There wasn't any loud music playing," he said according to WBTV. "It just the children screaming over the joy of breaking the pinata at the moment."
The Charlotte Observer reported that as officers were investigating Kevin's death, they heard several gunshots and rushed to a home five blocks away, where they found Laquanta Franchez Young dying of gunshot wounds. A man sitting near her was shot in the leg and is expected to survive.
No one has been arrested in the shootings, the Observer says, and police haven't released a suspected motive.
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article34266303.html#storylink=cpy