‘Children don’t deserve this’: 3 teens shot at Gastonia apartments, family says

GASTONIA, N.C. — Three people shot Friday in Gastonia are teenagers, a family said Monday. A reward is now being offered for information.

The shooting happened shortly after 9 p.m. Friday at the Mountain View apartments on Southside Avenue.

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Gastonia triple shooting Scene of shooting on March 29, 2024, on Southside Avenue in Gastonia.

Family members told Channel 9′s Dave Faherty they were going home after picking up some dinner when someone fired between 15 to 20 shots, hitting a 14-year-old girl in the stomach. They also hit her older brother, who was driving. They said another teen nearby was also shot.

All three victims went to the hospital for their injuries. The girl has already undergone multiple surgeries, her family said.

‘So many young kids being harmed’

The girl’s older brother is now out of the hospital and spoke to Faherty about his neighbors, who rushed to help when they heard the gunfire.

“They helped my sister in this traumatic time. They helped me,” he said. “They made sure my sister was brought out of the car. They did everything they could.”

He also spoke about the other young teen, who he said was shot while running across the street.

Farther down the street, a mother of three young children allowed her kids outside for the first time Monday since the shooting.

“We’re in -- me and my kids are in by 7 o’clock,” Kayla Luke said. “Doors shut and everything, and we don’t come back out.”

The older brother is asking for people to continue to pray for his sister and the other teen.

“I can tell that they’re really tired of so many young kids being harmed,” he said. “Children don’t deserve this lifestyle.”

Police said there have been five shootings at the Mountain View apartment complex over the past year, including three on Southside Avenue.

The Gastonia Police Department asked anyone with information to reach out to them at 704-866-6702 or through CrimeStoppers of Gaston County at 704-861-8000. A $1,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest.

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