11-year-old boy now in custody, weeks after killing of 8-year-old Jenesis Dockery
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- The 11-year-old accused of shooting and killing 8-year-old Jenesis Dockery is now in custody.
Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said it detained the young boy and handed him over to the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) on Friday.
Investigators said there was enough evidence to charge the child with manslaughter and two counts of larceny of a firearm. DJJ will determine how to proceed at this point.
Dockery's family said she was staying at her babysitter's house in July when the babysitter's son got a gun and shot her in the head.
"This has been a horrible nightmare; still doesn't feel real. It's hard to put into words how we're trying to navigate, three weeks later, for something to be done. We wore orange pins on the day we buried our daughter -- for gun violence awareness. Because as much as we want justice for out daughter, this is something no parent should ever have to do. We thank the community, and we ask that you continue to support and continue to reach out until the full hand of the law is exacted with justice for our Jenesis," father Fon Dockery said.
The Dockery's attorney, Harry Daniels, said there were multiple social media posts before the shooting that showed the 11-year-old had access to guns.
He also said two of the guns involved in the case were stolen from a relatives safe and in the babysitter's home when Dockery was shot.
Daniels said it remained possible that adults responsible for the guns used in the deadly shooting could still face criminal charges as the investigation processes.
