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The mother and grandmother of a Durham girl killed in a drive-by shooting more than a year ago said Friday that the arrest of two men was the answer to their prayers.
Demetriss China, mother of 13-year-old Shakanah China, said she never doubted police would solve the case.Shakanah, a seventh-grader at Lakeview School in Durham, was playing outside 7 Atka Court when someone fired several shots from a passing van. She was hit in the stomach and died.
Her grandmother, Diane Billings, remembered Shakanah as her favorite, the child she spoiled above other grandchildren. "That was my baby," Billings, said. "I miss everything about her."
Billings and China agreed, after Shakanah's death, they had sleepless nights, lost weight and prayed for closure. "I wasn't going to rest until I found them," China said of the men who killed her daughter. "Now I can't rest until they get what they deserve."
For Billings, the arrests bring a measure of relief, but don't ease her loss. "I tell everybody it still won't bring her back. The reason she was shot was so foolish. A beautiful, innocent person is gone over some mess that could've been avoided."
Right after the shooting, witnesses told police a green, older model Ford Windstar or Chevrolet Astro van came down Rochelle Street and someone inside the van fired several shots as the van approached Atka Court. Detectives said they didn't believe the seventh-grader at Lakeview School in Durham was the intended target.
China's mother told ABC11 right after it happened that the first shot missed her daughter, but two more struck her. Demetriss China said the girl died in her arms.
"My daughter was on her phone texting, and I had seen a green van ride by and didn't pay any attention to it. But then 30 minutes later, the same green van came through and started shooting," she said.
Neighbors described the teen as a vibrant young girl who had dreams of becoming a nurse. She was often seen babysitting her younger siblings.
On Friday, police charged Levette Lipscomb, 26, and Brandon Townsend, 19, with murder. Police said both men lived on North Briggs Avenue, and they were being held without bond.
"I'm glad," Billings said, "But by the same token, someone else's family will have to go through grief and heartache because of what their child has done."
Family members said there were more than two people in that van, and Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for tips in the case. Anyone with information is asked to call 919-683-1200. Crime Stoppers pays cash, and callers do not have to leave a name.
Real Shocking Crimes caught on camera: "Warning Graphic."
The mother and grandmother of a Durham girl killed in a drive-by shooting more than a year ago said Friday that the arrest of two men was the answer to their prayers.
Demetriss China, mother of 13-year-old Shakanah China, said she never doubted police would solve the case.Shakanah, a seventh-grader at Lakeview School in Durham, was playing outside 7 Atka Court when someone fired several shots from a passing van. She was hit in the stomach and died.
Her grandmother, Diane Billings, remembered Shakanah as her favorite, the child she spoiled above other grandchildren. "That was my baby," Billings, said. "I miss everything about her."
Billings and China agreed, after Shakanah's death, they had sleepless nights, lost weight and prayed for closure. "I wasn't going to rest until I found them," China said of the men who killed her daughter. "Now I can't rest until they get what they deserve."
For Billings, the arrests bring a measure of relief, but don't ease her loss. "I tell everybody it still won't bring her back. The reason she was shot was so foolish. A beautiful, innocent person is gone over some mess that could've been avoided."
Right after the shooting, witnesses told police a green, older model Ford Windstar or Chevrolet Astro van came down Rochelle Street and someone inside the van fired several shots as the van approached Atka Court. Detectives said they didn't believe the seventh-grader at Lakeview School in Durham was the intended target.
China's mother told ABC11 right after it happened that the first shot missed her daughter, but two more struck her. Demetriss China said the girl died in her arms.
"My daughter was on her phone texting, and I had seen a green van ride by and didn't pay any attention to it. But then 30 minutes later, the same green van came through and started shooting," she said.
Neighbors described the teen as a vibrant young girl who had dreams of becoming a nurse. She was often seen babysitting her younger siblings.
On Friday, police charged Levette Lipscomb, 26, and Brandon Townsend, 19, with murder. Police said both men lived on North Briggs Avenue, and they were being held without bond.
"I'm glad," Billings said, "But by the same token, someone else's family will have to go through grief and heartache because of what their child has done."
Family members said there were more than two people in that van, and Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for tips in the case. Anyone with information is asked to call 919-683-1200. Crime Stoppers pays cash, and callers do not have to leave a name.
Printed from the News & Observer - www.NewsObserver.com
Published Wed, May 11, 2011 09:35 AM
Modified Wed, May 11, 2011 09:17 PM
Modified Wed, May 11, 2011 09:17 PM
Drive-by kills Durham girl, 13, while she was texting
- Staff writer
Published in: Durham County
Related Images
Courtesy of the family
A family photo of Shakanah China, 13, taken in early 2010. The 13 year old was shot and killed Tuesday evening as she stood with a group of people in front of her apartment in east Durham.CHUCK LIDDY - cliddy@newsobserver.com
Demetriss China ,left, speaks with Durham police officers outside her apartment at 7 Atka Court with her mother, Diane Billings, second from right, about the shooting of her daughter Shakanah China. The 13 year old was shot and killed Tuesday evening as she stood with a group of people in front of the apartment in east Durham.
Shakanah China, who had just turned 13 last month, was shot and killed Tuesday night in front of her Durham apartment as she texted on the cellphone she had received as her birthday gift.
Shakanah's little brother, age 10 months, her mother and her little sister, age 5, were all standing with her in a group chatting with neighbors when the shooting occurred, said Shakanah's aunt, Laresha King.
"Her little brother was right there beside her," said King, who had just left Shakanah and her family no more than an hour before the shooting on Atka Court near Rochelle Street in eastern Durham.
"If you can't call your home safe in your own yard where can you call safe," King said. "I just don't understand it. She was an innocent bystander."
Durham police said they received the shooting call about 7:30 p.m.
Shakanah, who lived in apartment 7-B with her family, was taken to Duke Hospital, where she was pronounced dead a short time later, police said.
Witnesses told police a green, older model Ford Windstar or Chevrolet Astro van came down Rochelle Street and an occupant of the van fired several shots. The van was last seen heading west on Holloway Street.
King said her sister told her four shots were fired. She mistakenly thought it might have been a BB gun and didn't realize Shakanah, her oldest child, had been hit.
"She took a couple of steps and she started going down," King said. "Shakanaha just fell in her mother's arms."
Until recently, Shakanah was a 7th-grader at Neal Middle School but her aunt said the child had recently been transferred to Lakeview, an alternative school. Shakanah didn't like Lakeview, her aunt said, and had told her mother she was going to work hard to return to Neal.
"I'm not saying she was a perfect child but she was a happy child. She loved making people laugh," King said.
Earlier Tuesday, King said she has gone over to her sister's apartment to do her niece's hair and bring her a jacket to wear over the spaghetti-strapped dress she planned to wear to the funeral of her great-grandmother.
"She sat between my legs and we did her hair. We talked about making plans to take her to the beauty parlor."
King said her sister, a single mother, and the children had only lived at the apartment complex for about four months.
Her sister was uneasy at the apartment and didn't like the surrounding neighborhood, King said, and had mentioned many times how she wished she had the money to move her family.
"I keep thinking what if, what if, what if," King said.
The family is now making arrangements to move the family out of the apartment while also trying to make funeral arrangements for Shakanah, the newly minted teen who loved Facebook, spending time with her grandmother and playing with her siblings. "She was the big sister and looked out for them," King said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Durham investigators at 560-4440 or Crime Stoppers at 683-1200. Crime Stoppers pays cash rewards for information leading to arrests in felony cases and callers never have to identify themselves.
Real Shocking Crimes caught on camera: "Warning Graphic."
