GASTONIA, N.C. — Law enforcement officials have taken two juveniles into custody in connection with the fatal shooting of 68-year-old Pamela Shanks in Gastonia, police said.
[ ‘A sweet woman’: 68-year-old shot, killed while sitting on porch in Gastonia ]
Shanks was fatally shot Oct. 19 while resting on her rear porch at the Dwell Townhomes complex, situated on Hillgate Avenue west of Robinwood Road. Family and friends maintain that Shanks was not the intended target of the gunfire.
One of the minors was detained last Friday at Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., as he attempted to depart for Africa.
The second minor was captured Tuesday in Upstate South Carolina while evading authorities.
Shots came from a playground across the street, and the intended target was another minor.
Finland Fair of 101 Black Men of Highland heard that minors were involved in the shooting that took the life of the mother of two children.
“This is why we are in the schools, and this is why we are trying to make a difference,” Fair said.
101 Black Men is a grassroots organization aimed at stopping violence by and against young Black men.
Ephraim Winkfield is a minister and member of the group. Members have face-to-face conversations with young people.
“Do individual, one-on-one, intentionally,” Winkfield said. “We want the violence to stop.”
“We say, ‘Please’ and ‘thank you,’” Fair said. “We appreciate you, and we telling them ‘I love you.’ A lot of kids don’t hear ‘I love you’ at home.”
They hope to stop incidents like this.
They said scenes like this can draw young men into violence, especially if they think they can avoid arrest.
The two minors will now face murder charges as adults for killing Shanks.
Fair said the group will continue to try to reach young people before bad things happen.
“We are going to be here regardless until the end,” Fair said. “We are never going to give up on them.”
Police are withholding further details regarding the suspects due to their status as juveniles, police said.
The arrests were the result of an inquiry conducted by Gastonia police investigators and analysts from the Real-Time Crime Center. The operation was supported by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.