Police: Wilson Teen Shot By Man Playing With Gun

Police said they believe Robert Earl Keel Jr., 20, of Wilson, accidentally shot Shikita Shantae Archer, 14, in the face while she was visiting friends at a house. Police say he was playing with the gun when it went off.

Alton Jordan, Archer's uncle, calls his niece kind and loving.

"It just doesn't make sense to me for it to happen to someone like that. She was a good kid," said Alton Jordan, Archer's uncle. "She was close to everybody and everybody loved to see her around. It's just a waste. Just a waste."

Archer was a freshman at Hunt High School in Wilson, where classmates posted her pictures in the hallway. Counselors spent the day talking with students and teachers.

"When you think about her, you have to smile just because that's the kind of student she was. Her sense of humor was the thing that showed most with her. She just made people laugh," school counselor Nancy Boykin said. "It's been a really emotional day with the shock that we've had this morning and the sadness we've experienced."

Keel is charged with involuntary manslaughter. He also faces a charge because he is a convicted felon and was not allowed to have a gun. He is being held in the Wilson County Jail under a $50,000 secured bond.