New details in teen's death at Raleigh hotel
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- As a man charged with the involuntary manslaughter of a 13-year-old boy faced a Wake County judge on Monday, ABC11 learned more about the night Nathan Clark was killed. We now know he was next to his best friend when he was hit by the bullet that killed him.
"You just want to wake up and it not have happened," said Scott Wollaston with the Twin City Youth Soccer Association.
"Probably the most incredibly tragic and unbelievable type of circumstance that any of us could imagine," said Richard Hardee, the Head of School at Calvary Baptist Day School in Winston-Salem.
Clark's soccer community, his school and his family are still in shock over what happened to the young teen Friday night away from home.
The eighth grader was in Raleigh for the weekend for a soccer tournament. It's something he was excited to attend. His coaches say he lived for the game.
"The joy in his eyes when he played, his smile. When I close my eyes and I think about him, and think about him daily now, all I can see is his smile," said Dane Brenner, Wake Forest University Assistant Men's Soccer Coach.
Fifth grade photo of Nathan Clark from the 2012 Lewisville Elementary School yearbook. (Photo Courtesy: Winston-Salem Journal)
Clark would never hit the field on Saturday. Friday night, around 11 p.m., Clark was in his room at the Comfort Suites Hotel on Corporation Parkway in Raleigh. He was lying in bed next to his best friend when a bullet went through the wall and hit him. Raleigh police say the bullet was fired from 42-year-old Randall Vater's gun from the next room.
It was an accident, but Vater is a 28-time convicted felon and not allowed to even have a gun. Records show over the past 25 years he's been to prison three times and was most recently released just three weeks ago.
"This is just a heart wrenching situation here. I feel so bad for this family. Our entire office is, you know, so sad. You know it's, as a parent you just, you know, it makes you want to go home and hug your kids a little bit tighter tonight because it's, it's a bad, bad deal," said Ned Mangum, Wake County District Attorney.
"You think about your own kid being there, and it's tough," said Barbara Anderson.
Anderson was one of several chaperons of nearly 30 students on a band field trip Friday. They found themselves staying at the Comfort Suites when their original hotel lost their reservations. When her group returned to the hotel Friday night, they found it had turned into a crime scene.
"I went and talked to the detective and asked him what should we do, could we come in, and he had told me that there was an accidental homicide," said Anderson.
Anderson would later learn a child was the victim and that it happened on the second floor, the same floor she was staying on with more than two dozen children. While the shooting didn't involve a room her group was staying in, the incident gave her pause.
"Had I known the bullet went through the wall, I probably would been in a different state of mind, cause you just don't think anything like that is going to happen," she said.
She said she was thankful they were not there during the time of the shooting and began making plans to notify parents what had happened.
Vater's latest address on file lists a Knightdale residence. There was no word on what he was doing at the hotel or why he allegedly had the gun. ABC11 found he has a rap sheet dating back to the 1980s. The list of charges throughout the decades includes communicating threats, assault, and violating protective orders.
Clark was in Raleigh from Lewisville to play in the Capital Area Soccer League shootout. The league released this statement:
"We awoke this morning with great sadness to the unsettling news that Nathan Clark tragically lost his life late Friday night. Our thoughts and prayers are with Nathan's family and to his extended soccer family: the North Carolina Fusion players, parents, and coaches. We find some solace knowing that a man has been charged in connection with this incident. However, we can only imagine the pain and sorrow the Clark family is experiencing in the wake of this tragedy. We respect their wishes for privacy during this difficult time."
As for Anderson, who has taken students on field trips for years, she said this experience has her rethinking the next one.
"I've taken kids everywhere. I've never given it a thought, but I just don't know," she said. "It's a huge responsibility, and now that you know something that random can happen, it's tough to volunteer for something like that."
Vater is being held on $1 million bond. If convicted on the possession of a firearm by a felon, he faces 47 months in prison. If he's convicted for involuntary manslaughter, Vater faces up to 59 months in prison. His next court date is Dec. 8.
Meanwhile, Clark's soccer family is planning a "Play for Nathan" night in Winston-Salem. They say it will be an open invitation Thursday night for anyone who wants to play and celebrate Clark's passion for the game. Details on that are still being finalized along with funeral services.
