NC Wanted

NC Wanted: Police search for men who shot 5-year-old girl in head

Lopez's life came to an end on Aug. 4, 2006 when two armed men barged into her home on Duke Street in Wallace and demanded money.

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WALLACE, N.C. — Five-year-old Caty Lopez couldn’t wait for the first day of kindergarten, but her life was cut tragically short by a bullet meant for someone else.

Lopez’s life came to an end on Aug. 4, 2006 when two armed men barged into her home on Duke Street in Wallace and demanded money.

“The whole incident happened very quickly. They asked for money and then started shooting. It only took a few seconds to a minute or so,” Said SBI Special Agent Scott Kennedy.

Lopez was with her mother, father and a family friend. The 5-year-old jumped off the couch and ran to her father’s arms. By that time, Salvadore Lopez had already ushered his wife down the hall to safety, but he couldn’t do the same for his daughter.

“They opened the door and started firing. I didn’t have time to think. I just heard them enter and I got up immediately,” Salvadore Lopez said

Caty Lopez was shot in the temple. Her father was shot in the arm and chest. He carried his wounded daughter out the back door as the gunmen ran away. A neighbor called 911, but it was too late for the child.

“Anytime that you work a homicide, it becomes personal. Knowing that she can’t make her parents smile, or make her friends and family smile; there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t’ think about Caty,” Kennedy said.

Anybody with information about the unsolved case should call 1-866-439-2683.

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