By Ian Lenahan
PORTSMOUTH HERALD
PORTSMOUTH — The city school district and community are grieving the loss of third-grade student Quarius Naqua Dunham, who died after being shot on Saturday while traveling in a car in Florence, South Carolina.
No motive has been determined for the shooting, according to the Florence County Sheriff’s Office.
The child, who was 8 years old and attended Little Harbour School, was on a family trip, according to Steve Zadravec, superintendent of Portsmouth schools.
Charles Montgomery Allen, 40, of Florence, is now charged with murder, the sheriff’s office announced Tuesday. He is charged with multiple crimes for shooting the boy and his father, who is recovering, according to the sheriff’s office. The child’s father, who was driving the vehicle, was shot in the leg. The shooting occurred on Old River Road, where Allen lives, according to the sheriff’s office.
Quarius Dunham, who was seated in the passenger seat, was shot in the neck and removed from life support late Sunday, according to a report from WDPE in South Carolina, which cited information from the Florence County coroner. The sheriff’s office stated an autopsy will be performed on the child at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.
The Florence County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of “multiple shots fired” and shortly after arriving at the scene “located suspect Charles Montgomery Allen and took him into custody following a brief standoff at his residence on Old River Road.”
Allen remained held at the Florence County Detention Center without bond Tuesday. The incident remains under investigation and additional charges remain possible, authorities said. The sheriff’s office has called the shooting “random.”
The identity of the attorney for Allen was not immediately known.
Portsmouth schools offer support, grapple with loss
Classes resumed after the holiday weekend Tuesday at Little Habour and other Portsmouth elementary schools. Counseling services were offered for students and staff members.
Portsmouth School Board chairperson Nancy Clayburgh reacted to the student’s death by discussing how third-grade students are processing the death of their classmate.
“It’s an absolute tragedy. This country is experiencing some interesting and sad times these days, between what happened in Texas and now what happened in our own community,” she said. “It’s hitting home and it’s hard, it’s tough. It’s young children that are being affected by this, so we’re hoping the assistance we can give the students in the schools today can help in their recovery.”
The Little Harbour School student’s death comes amid a national conversation on gun violence following the recent mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, a mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo and other shootings. The shooting in Uvalde killed 19 students and two teachers in a fourth-grade classroom, the second deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.
Portsmouth community members gathered in Prescott Park last week to discuss gun violence in America in an informal meeting called by Mayor Deaglan McEachern in response to the shootings in Texas.
Less than a week later, news of gun violence taking the life of a Portsmouth student has sent shockwaves throughout the city.
“There really are no words to express the shock and sadness with which we receive this terrible news,” McEachern said in a prepared statement. “Just last week we gathered in a vigil to remember the 19 children whose lives were cut short in Texas. We tried to imagine how those parents felt, how we would feel. Now that darkness has crept into Portsmouth and taken the life of one of our own.”
The charges against Charles Montgomery Allen
Allen is charged with one count of murder, one count of attempted murder, four counts of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. He randomly shot at cars passing by his residence, according to the Florence County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina.
Jail records showed on Monday that he was denied bond on all six charges.
Responding as school resumes Tuesday
Zadravec, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday, wrote to families on Monday, “An event like this touches our community as a whole. Our hearts are with the family as we support each other through this unbelievable tragedy.”
Kim Hasty, president of Little Harbour’s Parent Teacher Association, said Tuesday the school is “shocked and deeply saddened” by Dunham’s death, which she called a “senseless tragedy.”
“We’re doing what we can to support all of the parents, students and teachers in our school community as we all grieve this terrible loss,” Hasty said.
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