Source: gofundme / GoFundMe
Police in Fayetteville, North Carolina have arrested the 11-year-old boy accused of shooting 8-year-old Jenesis Dockery.
According to ABC 11, Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office detained the boy on Friday and handed him over to the Department of Juvenile Justice.
Officials stated there was enough evidence to charge the boy with manslaughter and two counts of larceny of a firearm but left it in the hands of the Department of Juvenile Justice.
According to civil rights attorney Harry Daniels, who was hired by the Dockery family, Jenesis’ father, Fon Dockery, left her and her 5-year-old sister in the care of the girls’ babysitter on July 25. The babysitter was a longtime friend of the Dockerys and had cared for Jenesis and her sister at her home multiple times previously without incident.
Less than an hour after dropping the girls off, however, Dockery received a phone call from the babysitter that Jenesis had been shot in the head. The Dockerys were later informed that the babysitter’s 11-year-old son was the shooter.
Despite the efforts of doctors at Cape Fear Valley Hospital and UNC-Chapel Hill, Jenesis died two days later.
“This has been a horrible nightmare; it still doesn’t feel real,” Jenesis’ father Fon Dockery said during a press conference. “It’s hard to put into words how we’re trying to navigate, three weeks later, for something to be done. We wore orange pins on the day we buried our daughter — for gun violence awareness. Because as much as we want justice for our daughter, this is something no parent should ever have to do.”
Although visibly in pain, Dockery found the strength to thank everyone who supported him and his family as they continue to seek justice for Jenesis Dockery.
“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,” he said.
During the same presser, Attorney Harry Daniels demanded that the adults who allowed an 11-year-old access to deadly firearms also be held accountable for Jenesis’ death.
“They say the gun was in the safe, well he obviously knew the combination to the safe,” said Daniels. “This wasn’t the first time he was in possession of guns, there were multiple [social media posts] showing he had been in possession of weapons before [the shooting.] Where I’m from if you have weapons and showing them off, then somebody ain’t watching you.”
Daniels also said that it’s a possibility that the adults responsible could face criminal charges once the investigation is complete.
“Why did this 11-year-old child have a gun?” asked Daniels in a press release to NewsOne.
“What kind of responsible adult takes your child into her home, pledges to keep her safe and then lets something like this happen? How many more children have to die until our leaders and the gun manufacturers start taking safety seriously? As a parent, these are the kinds of questions that keep me up at night and, after this, I’d be surprised if any parent could sleep.”
A GoFundMe page was started by Mase Mason on behalf of Jenesis’ father, Fon Dockery.
On the page, Mason writes, “The family is enduring hardship and I believe the Fayetteville Community and beyond can rally around them to assist them in these absolutely trying times. Please find it in your hearts to assist them.”
If you would like to help the family and donate, click here.
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