Shooting of 12-year-old girl at carnival fuels talk of Fayetteville youth curfew

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- After a 12-year-old girl was shot at a carnival in Fayetteville on Saturday night, residents are asking whether the city should revive the idea of a youth curfew to help curb violence.

The girl's family, meanwhile, told ABC11 that she was recovering at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill.

Cassandra Ambrose, the girl's grandmother said the preteen was enjoying what was supposed to be a fun evening out with her family at a carnival in Cliffdale Plaza. Instead, she says her granddaughter, an innocent bystander, was shot in the back after an altercation broke out. The child's father said she currently can't feel her legs.

Ambrose said she arrived at the carnival before the shooting happened around 8 p.m.

"It happened really fast, it was very chaotic," she said.

Ambrose and her family said they don't know what prompted the shooting, but they don't believe they were being targeted. They say they saw an altercation break out among some young attendees before shots were fired. Fayetteville Police told ABC11 that the department is still investigating the incident.

"A youth curfew would be great if they're not with their parents, yes," Ambrose said. "It's so many things happening in the City of Fayetteville where it's really becoming unsafe."

Other community members have been echoing Ambrose's support of implementing a youth curfew in the wake of the shooting -- an idea that city officials unsuccessfully launched back in 2023. But Mayor Mitch Colvin has another idea on how to respond to the situation.

"One of the things that I'm going to introduce to council is the process in which carnivals are able to come into our community without a permitting process," Colvin said. "And so with that process, we'll talk about your safety plan and how many officers you plan and are required to have for those large gatherings. There has to be some accountability."

The city said the owner of the carnival didn't submit any permits for the event because it was held on private property. The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said two off-duty deputies were working at the carnival when the shooting occurred.

"I applaud our mayor for looking at a more direct approach to resolve a solution and actually finding an answer to the problem that's before us," said Councilmember Mario Benavente. "What I'm always afraid of when we try to create solutions seeking a problem. And that's what a youth curfew would be. I think a more appropriate thing is just as our mayor said, to more focus on what actually occurred that particular evening at that location and not to create some sort of blanket policy that has so many unintended consequences that harm our young people."

Anti-violence advocate Demetria Murphy said she once supported the idea of having a youth curfew when it was first raised, but now a solution for the current state of violence in the city needs to evolve with the times. She expressed her sympathy for the girl and her family and said people -- especially parents -- need to step up more to protect their children and the larger community.

"We have to stand up and take our communities back. We cannot continue to expect the county, the city, the government, or anybody to stand in and protect or take it back for us," she said.

ABC11 is still working to connect with the owner of this carnival for comment.