MOORESVILLE. N.C. — A shooting Monday night at Mazeppa Park in Mooresville left one juvenile dead and another injured during an attempted armed robbery for THC vape pens.
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When officers from the Mooresville Police Department arrived at about 8:30 p.m., they found one victim pronounced dead at the scene by Iredell EMS, while a second juvenile was transported to Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital with gunshot wounds. The shooting occurred during an attempted armed robbery where two parties arranged a meeting to purchase THC vape pens.
Bryan Fernandez Acevedo, 19, Jovany Jiminez, 17, Jonathan Jiminez, 17, Christopher Chacon Ventura, 16, and Christopher Palencia Lazo, 16, all of Statesville, have been charged as adults with murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon. One other juvenile has also been charged with the same crimes and will be named after arrest.
In addition to the main suspects, two other adults, Carlos Ezequiel Rodriguez Garcia, 19 and Christian Alexis Gutierrez Chavez, 20, have been charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill after their involvement was established.
Law enforcement reports indicate that the vehicle involved in the incident left the park before officers arrived but was located shortly thereafter by officers from the Statesville Police Department.
The investigation is ongoing and additional information will be released as it becomes available.
‘Started to panic’
A woman told Channel 9 that she heard the gunshots from the other side of the park. She and her husband hunkered down and waited for information.
“There was only a few but we hear them a lot out here, so we weren’t really concerned at first,” said the woman, who didn’t want to be identified. “But when everyone started to call me on the phone, I started to panic, low key, because I wasn’t sure what was going on.”
Her home backs up to the park and she said shortly after bullets started flying, the situation escalated.
“We could see all of the sirens that went by on the street from where I live,” the witness said.
Police were still at the park’s entrance Tuesday morning to block it off.
Due to the ongoing investigation, Mazeppa Park was closed to the public.
“It’s gotten to the point now where we’re starting to discuss moving elsewhere if this behavior keeps continuing in this town,” the witness said. “Because this is a quiet town and peaceful. That’s why we like living here.”
Earlier this month, 19 shell casings were recovered after a shooting at the Meadowlark Glen apartment complex.
Mooresville’s police chief told Channel 9 then he was frustrated because a teen they connected to that shooting was let go.
The woman Channel 9 spoke with is concerned about the nearby violence.
“This is a very active park,” she said. “That’s the part that scares me. There are families and games that happen in this park every weekend. For it to happen on a night where there are games and there are a lot of people here, we’re just lucky it was empty.”
This is a developing story. Check back with wsoctv.com for updates.
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