A North Carolina man is facing multiple charges after allegedly firing at a van and hitting a toddler because the child’s father parked too close to his car. The incident occurred on Sunday evening in Charlotte, with 39-year-old James Raeford now facing charges including assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and six counts of discharging a weapon into an occupied property.
The incident unfolded around 8 p.m. in an apartment complex on Sloping Oaks Road. A man was driving his white GMC Savana work van with his 3-year-old son in the front passenger seat. After parking his van, the driver noticed an unknown man, later identified as Raeford, firing at his vehicle. It is believed that Raeford fired at least six bullets, one of which struck the child in the back.
In response to the gunfire, the father quickly drove out of the complex to a location about 10 minutes away and dialed 911. Deputies from the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office met with them and gathered more information about the incident. The injured child was taken to a hospital and, as of Monday, was expected to survive.
A witness reported hearing four or five gunshots and seeing a man, who she described as having braids or dreadlocks and wearing dark clothes, yelling and mentioning getting another clip for his gun. The man then entered a third-floor apartment and later left.
Upon investigating the apartment, officers spoke with a woman who said she was at work when her boyfriend, Raeford, called her about an altercation in the parking lot involving a white van parked too close to his car. The woman added that Raeford claimed the van’s driver tried to run him over, but he did not mention firing his weapon. Officers were allowed to search the apartment and found an empty black 9mm magazine.
Raeford later approached officers outside a magistrate’s office and admitted his involvement in the shooting. He was subsequently arrested and provided his account of the incident. Raeford claimed that the van’s driver ignored his requests to move the vehicle and then drove towards him, prompting him to fire his weapon. He also admitted to hiding his gun at his parent’s house out of fear of retaliation.
The van was later examined and found to have six bullet holes, one of which had entered through the back of the front passenger seat and hit the child. The trajectory of the bullets suggested that Raeford had fired his weapon as the van passed by him. Raeford made his first court appearance on Tuesday and is being held on a $500,000 secured bond. His next court date is scheduled for November 5.