CARY, N.C. (WNCN) — A judge denied bond for a road rage suspect accused of shooting a little girl while she was riding in her dad’s truck. That little girl is still in the hospital.
Five-year-old Ema is making the best of a situation her family never imagined. The little girl’s mother asked us to use only her first name because the family fears for their safety. Ema was shot in the leg during what police call a road rage incident. While she recovers in the hospital, the suspect accused of shooting her appeared before a judge.
“At this time, you’re going to be held with no bond on this charge of discharging a weapon into an occupied property,” the judge told Charles Stevenson, 20.
Police say Stevenson fired into Ema’s dad’s truck during a road rage incident that started on US 64 and ended up on US 1 in Cary during Monday night’s rush hour.
As emergency crews rushed Ema to the hospital, police began their search for the person who shot her.
“Any time you have an innocent child injured in something like this, it does kind of raise alarms a lot for a lot of people,” explained Cary Police Sgt. Kenric Alexander. “They want to get involved; they want to help, which was great for us because the community engagement that we received for this was very good and very positive and a lot of people called to help us.”
Officers arrested Stevenson a little more than 24 hours after the shooting. He appeared in court on a video monitor, telling the judge his mom hired an attorney for him.
Stevenson is expected back in court Thursday on another charge related to the case. Initially, he was charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, but that was dismissed, and the charge was elevated to assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury. In court, it was announced that a new warrant was filed for that charge.
Ema’s family is focused on her recovery. While they’re grateful to see her smiling and getting around in a wheelchair, she has a long road ahead. There have been a lot of tears and pain, and her mom says her daughter is terrified that she’ll be shot again. The family started a GoFundMe page
