‘Salem is doing wonderfully’: Baby still recovering after shooting that left parents dead

LENOIR, N.C. — A 6-month-old baby boy has gone home from the hospital, less than a week after being shot in Lenoir. The violence that put the little boy in the hospital also claimed the lives of his parents.

Salem’s quick recovery brings hope to his family who experienced the tragedy.

Channel 9′s Dave Faherty spoke with some family members who said the Lenoir community is coming together to help raise the baby.

Flowers were placed outside a home on Willow Street where police found two adults and their infant child who had been shot. The adults, Anthony Stevenson and his girlfriend, Shantel Harper, were dead.

Shantel Harper’s 6-month-old son, Salem, had been recovering at Levine’s Children’s Hospital after gunfire struck his face and arm.

“Salem is doing wonderfully,” his grandmother, Lynn Harper, said. “He gets to come home today. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God.”

Family members said that Salem must undergo surgery because the bullet shattered his shoulder.

“The bullet actually grazed his cheek and went into his arm,” his Aunt Carla Harper told Channel 9. “They actually had to stitch his face back up.”

On Friday, a family friend sent Channel 9 photos of the boy with a cast on his arm. She said Salem was doing great and still recovering.

Witnesses said the shooting was related to domestic violence.

Police said the boy’s father, Stevenson, shot and killed his mother, Shantel, before taking his own life.

The family said Salem will be cared for and loved by others and will not be alone.

“I’m going to be Salem’s guardian as of today when he comes home,” Lynn Harper said. “And I have a whole village that’s gonna help me take care of my grandchild.”

“He does have family on both sides that does love him,” Carla Harper said. " And I’m quite sure we will just have to rise above this. We will truly miss his mother. She was a loving mother.”

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Police and witnesses said the shooting happened after an argument between the couple inside the home.

Quasia Stevenson said she was inside the house when the shooting happened and was trying to help her infant nephew until paramedics arrived. She said her brother, Stevenson, was the one who fired the gun.

“I just want my nephew to be OK,” Quasia Stevenson said earlier in the week. “All I know is they were arguing about the baby.”

Stevenson and Shantel Harper died at the hospital, and Salem was in critical condition.

Police set up a perimeter around the crime scene which was spread across the street in front of the home. Officers then got a search warrant and went inside the house to collect evidence.

Police did not say if they found a gun at the scene, but neighbors said they heard at least a half dozen shots fired.

Family members gathered in front of Mount Pilgrim Church across the street after the shooting. They asked for prayers from the community, devastated by what happened.

“I hate it because I’m real close to the family, real close,” said neighbor James Shell. “Doesn’t make no sense. None whatsoever. None.”

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