SALISBURY, N.C. -- Police have arrested one and confirmed two shootings in Salisbury, which resulted in two deaths, were connected.
Salisbury police have arrested 21-year-old Savannah Maria Queen for an obstruction of justice for a shooting at the Firewater bar. Police specified that the charge is not for murder, however, they say the restaurant shooting is connected to the death of the 7-year-old. Police say Queen removed a weapon from the scene of the shooting at the bar and denied ever seeing a gun.
The two shootings occurred Sunday, December 5, a few blocks away from one another.
Officers were called to Firewater Restaurant on Avalon Drive just before 1:30 a.m. on December 5 to a reported shooting. Upon arrival, they were told someone had been shot in the parking lot and was taken to the hospital.
The victim, 22-year-old Sharod Raheen Mathis, died as a result of injuries suffered during the shooting, police said.
A few hours later, A'yanna Allen was shot while she was sleeping in bed with her 56-year-old grandmother. Family members say A'yanna was hit repeatedly and died instantly. Her grandmother suffered a gunshot wound to the leg but the injury was not life threatening.
A candlelight vigil was held Saturday for A'yanna, followed by her funeral on Sunday.
Authorities suspected the two shootings were connected from the beginning but say they did not have enough evidence until now.
“Knowing it and being able to prove it was two different things,” says Captain Sheila Lingle.
Lingle says detectives are “closer than ever” to being able to make arrests in A’yanna’s death.
Queen was arrested Friday for an obstruction of justice and is being held at the Rowan County Sheriff's Office for $25,000 bond. She has at least five prior criminal filings in North Carolina.
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