Weldon Police Chief: Shooting that killed 2-year-old was in retaliation for earlier shooting
WELDON, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Weldon chief of police said Friday that the shooting death of two-year-old Dyana Anderson was in retaliation for another shooting that happened just hours earlier on Tuesday of last week.
The news came on the same day that authorities arrested four suspects in a shooting that killed the 2-year-old child.
The Weldon Police Department announced early Friday that they have charged 19-year-old Jamonte Lamoncion Moody of Roanoke Rapids, 17-year-old Semajs Short of Roanoke Rapids, 21-year-old William David Cook of Roanoke Rapids, and 21-year-old Victor Mallory of Weldon with attempted first-degree murder and first-degree murder. All four made first appearances in court Friday morning and are currently in jail under no bond.
On Aug. 5, Weldon police were called to the 600-block of Cedar Street around midnight after shots were fired into a home.
Dyana's mother, Tamyra Anderson, told ABC11 she was relieved the four men accused in her daughter's death are now in jail facing first-degree murder charges.
"I was just mad," said Anderson about the night her daughter was killed. "I couldn't cry. I was just mad."
She said she does not personally know any of the suspects.
Dyana's uncle, Teddy Anderson Jr., is wanted in the shooting death of 15-year-old Keyuon Garner.
Weldon police say Garner's death spawned the murder of Anderson.
Anderson's grandmother, Katherine Price, was also shot when police say four men opened fire through a window of their home. Price is still in the hospital recovering from her injuries.
Garner's family held a funeral service for the teen Friday in Weldon.
Halifax County deputies say he was shot and killed Tuesday of last week on a county road less than a mile from where Dyana Anderson lived.
Anyone with information on Teddy Anderson's whereabouts is urged to contact the Halifax County Sheriff's Office at (252) 583-8201, Halifax County Crime Stoppers at (252) 583-4444, or the Weldon Police Department at (252) 536-3136.
