18-year-old woman killed in Raleigh shooting, man charged
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Raleigh police have made an arrest in a shooting Wednesday night in the 2800 block of Filbert Street that left a woman dead and her boyfriend wounded.
Officers responded to a call of shots fired in the Farmington Woods neighborhood around 9:45 p.m., which is close to Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School.
When they got there, 18-year-old Kari Onyea Watson was declared dead at the scene. A second person - 18-year-old Dre'kwon Bagley - was taken to WakeMed with non-life-threatening injuries.
Thursday afternoon, the Raleigh Police Department announced 21-year-old Xavier JaQuan Sanders is charged with murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. A motive was not given, but police said the shooting was not a random act.
Watson was attending college in Winston-Salem and was visiting Raleigh to be with her family for the holidays.
Witnesses reported hearing shots and then a car speeding away.
"My mom opened the door, and as soon as she opened the door, I heard a lady crying," said Rashaan Thompson. "As I heard the lady screaming, all we hear is blue sirens, all we hear is the ambulance all you hear is just people just yelling."
Watson graduated from Southeast Raleigh High School.
Some of her former classmates are offering their condolences on social media. One person tweeted, "To my Bulldog Family, we will get through this together. We lost a friend who no one can replace and a friend we will never forget."
"I could only imagine the pain that her mom's going through," said Thompson. "I feel like all of us are taking a big loss as a friend or even just a beautiful person on earth."
Anyone with information in the case is asked to call Raleigh CrimeStoppers at (919) 834-HELP or visit raleighcrimestoppers.org for text and email reporting options. CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards for anonymous tips that help solve cases.
