THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 11, 1996 TAG: 9609110462
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANGELITA PLEMMER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 64 lines
Police were searching for a 14-year-old boy wanted for questioning in connection with the shooting death of his 8-year-old stepsister Tuesday evening.
Zackary Carter of the 800 block of Ringfield Road was missing after the body of his stepsister, Cierra Rose Carter, was found by her mother in the second-floor bathroom of the family's home around 6 p.m.
Police said they want to talk to the boy since they have few leads in Cierra's death. It appears that Zackary was the only witness to the shooting that occurred in the Ocean Lakes section of the city. He has not been charged.
The teen and his stepsister were alone in the home when the shooting occurred, police spokesman Don Rimer said. The weapon in the shooting came from the home and was still there when police arrived.
The boy is not armed, police said, and is believed to be in the Red Mills Farms or Ocean Lakes section of the city. He is described as a white male, 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing 130 to 140 pounds with sandy brown hair cut in a bowl shape, and wearing a tan-and-brown plaid shirt and baggy blue jeans.
The boy's father and stepmother stayed at a neighbor's home as police and onlookers swarmed around the newly built cul-de-sac that is home for several Navy families.
``It's shocking . . . devastating,'' said Dan Lear, a neighbor who was taking care of one of the family's other children, a 3-year-old girl.
Lear said that earlier, Cierra's mother, who had arrived home after the shooting, had called a neighbor to ask if she had seen Cierra and if she would help look for her.
The girl was a student at Strawbridge Elementary School.
Lear said that Zackary, a student at Princess Anne Middle School, had come to Virginia Beach to live with his father, also named Zackary, and his stepmother less than a year ago.
The teenager's father is a petty officer first class in the Navy, and his stepmother is an office manager, Lear said.
Neighbors described Zackary as a quiet ``new kid'' on the block who played an electric guitar and skateboarded.
``It's surprising,'' said neighbor Kyle Bloom.
Cierra is the third child shot to death in Hampton Roads since April.
In July, 7-year-old Blanca Garcia of Norfolk was caught in crossfire during a shooting in Portsmouth. And Taylor Ricks, 3, also of Norfolk, was killed by a stray bullet during an argument between several men in April.
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to contact the Virginia Beach Police Department at 427-5000 immediately. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
The body of Cierra Rose Carter was found by her mother in a bathroom
in the family's home.
BILL TIERNAN/The Virginian-Pilot
The shooting took place in Virginia Beach at 801 Ringfield Road, the
house on the right. The victim's parents stayed at a neighbor's home
as police and onlookers gathered at the scene.
Map
VP
KEYWORDS: SHOOTING MURDER by CNB