‘My heart breaks’: Neighbor weighs in on deadly shooting in northwest Charlotte

CHARLOTTE — Just before 11 p.m. on Oct. 8, gunfire erupted on Winding Branch Court in north Charlotte. Eighteen shots tore into the upstairs bedroom of a family home, killing Peter Fana.

“I heard pop, pop, pop, so I jumped up and ran to my son’s room to make sure everybody was ok,” neighbor Vercie Massey said. “When I got to the front room, police were already in the neighborhood.”

Massey lives just a few doors down. She says the bullets were fired from right outside her home.

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Zantavious Walker and a 17-year-old have since been arrested in connection with the shooting. They’re charged with murder, conspiracy, and shooting into an occupied home.

Neighbors have been on edge, but they say the arrests brought some relief.

“It makes me feel more comfortable — more safe," Massey said. “In 20 years living here, I’ve never seen anything like this.”

A woman and a 10-month-old baby were also in the bedroom during the shooting, according to court documents. Thankfully, neither were hit.

“I just couldn’t believe someone could do something like that knowing a baby was in the house,” Massey said.

Court documents say detectives used neighbors’ video to track down a silver Chevrolet SUV tied to the ambush, only to learn it had been reported stolen weeks earlier. They say they found court paperwork for Walker inside the stolen car and used phone data to link him to the shooting.

“My heart breaks for that baby who lost a dad, a wife who lost her husband, and a family who lost a brother, uncle and friend,” Massey said.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department says the investigation is still unfolding. Anyone with information is asked to contact police.

VIDEO: MEDIC: 1 hurt in northwest Charlotte shooting