Victims in New Market shooting identified by sheriff’s office
NEW MARKET, Ala. (WAFF) - A juvenile suspect in a Thursday shooting in New Market will be charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, according to Brent Patterson with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.
The victims were identified as Ann Ferrell, 64, and Charlie Walker, 31. Patterson confirmed Ferrell was the juvenile’s grandmother(paternal) and Walker was the juvenile’s father.
Madison County Sheriff Kevin Turner released the following statement about the incident:
“We are deeply saddened for the families of these victims, family members, and our community during this time. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to each and every person affected by this incident. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family as well as our Deputies and other first responders who had to investigate this horrible incident.”
After the shooting, there was a car chase from the home that ended in a wreck on Winchester Road near Buckhorn High School.
The sheriff’s office confirmed the suspect was related to all victims in the shooting. The suspect is in the custody of the Neaves Davis Juvenile Center in Huntsville.
Shortly after the crash, Patterson confirmed the driver was a juvenile boy who was taken to an area hospital for treatment. Don Webster with Huntsville Emergency Medical Services, Inc. (HEMSI) confirmed medical services arrived at the scene shortly after 12:45 p.m.
The Madison County School System issued a statement Thursday evening saying the suspect was a homeschooled student and not enrolled at any nearby schools. In addition, they confirmed the school was not placed on lockdown saying:
“We were notified of the incident by MCSO, and administrators of the Buckhorn schools were alerted. Aside from our normal security measures, no additional action was required.”
Devan Watkins said he and the rest of the neighbors on Rose Valley Drive are still in disbelief after the shooting.
“It was just a very frantic, traumatic moment when you hear something like that,” Watkins said. “I thought we were far away from anything like that happening out here. I hear about it all the time. But it’s never anywhere near us. But when I saw that, it just hit really close to home.”
Watkins said the shooting was unexpected because he knew the teen who lives in the home. He said he would ride his skateboard down the neighborhood while waving to several neighbors.
Other neighbors like Kaleb Williams said most people inside the neighborhood know one another and are typically friendly.
“I would consider it a pretty calm neighborhood. You know? Pretty casual,” Williams said. “Everybody seems to know each somewhat. There’s a lot of waving, a lot of passing by, and saying ‘hi’. So people know each other. So it’s definitely strange to see that.”
Watkins said parents made sure to comfort any of the children who saw or knew those involved. He believes in times like these, it’s important to be there for each other.
“Don’t be afraid to talk to whoever you may need to talk to,” Watkins said. “Just open up you know? Don’t try to bottle up anything.”
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