Union County teacher dies after being shot in head during robbery

UNION COUNTY -- Details are emerging five days after a Union County teacher was shot during an armed robbery in the South End area of Charlotte.

WSOC reports 33-year-old Ruijan Guo was pronounced dead Wednesday. The Kensington Elementary School teacher had been on life support since she was shot on East Park Avenue Sept. 9.

Police sources have now confirmed that Joe Fuqua, the man who was with Guo and her boyfriend the night she was shot and who was then found fatally shot in a hotel two days later, had in fact been interviewed by homicide detectives about Guo's case prior to his death.

On Saturday, the day after the teacher was shot, a family member reported that Guo's apartment had been broken into, and neighbors told police they saw a Jeep like Fuqua's in the area.

Sources confirmed later that night police stopped Fuqua in his Jeep and homicide detectives questioned him about the robbery and shooting of the teacher. The result of that questioning remains unclear.

Two days later, Fuqua was killed.

Relatives at Fuqua's listed address in Tega Cay did not wish to comment.

On Wednesday, Guo's family asked for privacy during this difficult time. Friends said her father and brother flew in from China and said goodbye to the teacher before she was taken off life support.

Now, a friend of the couple who were performing in the show Guo and her boyfriend had gone to that night is planning a benefit in hopes of raising money for the family. Specifically, enough money so that Guo's boyfriend can travel to China for her funeral.

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