Local News

Reward offered to solve slaying of 13-year-old girl

A reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest in a drive-by shooting that killed a 13-year-old girl in Durham in May, police announced Friday.

Posted 2011-07-16T16:17:27+00:00 - Updated 2011-07-16T16:17:00+00:00

Shakanah China, 13, was fatally shot while standing outside a Durham apartment on May 10, 2011. Family members say they don't believe she was the intended target.

A reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest in a drive-by shooting that killed a 13-year-old girl in Durham in May, police announced Friday.

Investigators believe that a fight on Atka Court earlier in the week might be related to the May 10 death of Shakanah China.

Shakanah was standing outside 7 Atka Court when someone fired several shots from a passing van, witnesses told police. Investigators determined she was not the intended target of the shooting.

Police found the van but haven't identified any suspects.

Shakanah was a seventh-grader at Lakeview School in Durham who loved to tell jokes and had a smile that could brighten anyone's day, family members said. She wanted to be a nurse when she grew up.

Crime Stoppers has offered a reward of an unspecified amount of information leading to an arrest in her death.

Anyone with information about the shooting should contact the Durham Police Investigator Pate at 919-560-4440, ext. 29332 or Crime Stoppers at 919-683-1200. Crime Stoppers pays cash rewards for anonymous tips.