Eight-year-old killed by gunman taking random pot-shots at passing cars

‘I noticed the gentleman was taking aim and I said, he’s going to shoot again, so I ducked and stepped on the accelerator to get past him and he shot again,’ driver says

An eight-year-old boy from New Hampshire was killed while on vacation in South Carolina by a 40-year-old man who was firing randomly at cars from a wooded area close to his house.

Quarius Naqua Dunham, 8, died on Sunday after being shot in the neck the day before as his family was driving down a rural road in Florence County in the eastern parts of the state, according to Coroner Keith von Lutcken. The child’s father was hit in the leg but survived.

Charles Montgomery Allen, 40, was detained in the woods and has been charged with murder, attempted murder and four counts of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle, according to Florence County Sheriff TJ Joye. He added that the suspect appeared to be high on drugs and that law enforcement had had issues with the suspect in the past. But the authorities have said that they are unsure why Allen started shooting at cars over the weekend.

“Just a senseless, senseless act,” the sheriff told WBTW-TV. Allen is detained without bond and jail records didn’t reveal if he had a lawyer.

Another driver present at the bond hearing said that his roof was struck by a bullet when he travelled down Old River Road.

This image provided by Florence County Detention shows Charles Montgomery Allen (AP)

“I noticed the gentleman was taking aim and I said, he’s going to shoot again, so I ducked and stepped on the accelerator to get past him and he shot again,” Calvin Cade said.

Quarius attended Little Harbour School in Portsmouth in southeastern New Hampshire.

Portsmouth schools Superintendent Steve Zadravec said in a message to the community that “an event like this touches our community as a whole”.

“Our hearts are with the family as we support each other through this unbelievable tragedy,” he added.

The Associated Press contributed to this report