MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A man and woman were arrested after a 10-year-old girl was shot in the head in an apparent road rage incident in Raleigh earlier this month.
April Denton was charged with false offense report and solicitation of first-degree murder, while her boyfriend Derrick White was charged with attempted first-degree murder and employment of a firearm to commit a felony.
According to court records, a woman was driving southbound on Austin Peay on May 10 when a gold Buick pulled out in front of her. Police said the woman sped past the other vehicle and cut the driver off, leading to a chase situation.
The woman pulled inside the Jamesbridge Apartments complex and came to a stop, followed by the Buick and a Honda Accord.
That’s when someone in the Honda fired a shot, striking the woman’s 10-year-old daughter in the head. The Buick sped away, while the Honda was found the next day parked at the Jamesbridge apartments with two magazines of ammunition inside, police said.
Video from the scene led police to White, who authorities said owns both vehicles involved in the shooting. They said he was driving the Honda while Denton was driving the Buick.
Phone records also indicated that Denton called White after she was cut off by the woman and then again immediately following the shooting.
On May 26, White spoke with police and allegedly confessed to being on the scene and owning both vehicles. Denton, they said, was less forthcoming with information, giving police conflicting statements about where she was during and after the shooting on two separate occasions.
Police said her statements were proven false by video and phone records along with testimony given by a family member who was there when the shooting happened.
The girl hurt in this shooting is one of dozens of children injured by gunfire in Memphis this year. Earlier this month, doctors at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital told WREG they’d treated 48 children for gunshot wounds.
“It’s still hard seeing a 10-year-old come in with ponytails or seeing a bow in her hair that’s just completely soaked in blood. It’s just terrible and it’s really not something that she should have to go through or her family should have to go through,” said Dr. Regan Williams, Trauma Medical Director at Le Bonheur.