Brother won't be charged in death
By Lee Williams
Published in News on July 25, 2007 1:46 PM
Goldsboro police say no charges will be filed in connection with the death of an 8-year-old boy who was fatally shot with a handgun that he found near his home on Robson Circle July 17.
Goldsboro police and Wayne County EMS responded to the home at about 3 p.m. and found Andre Wilder unresponsive and suffering from a gunshot wound to the cheek, Goldsboro police Investigator Sgt. Chad Calloway said.
Andre was taken to Wayne Memorial Hospital, where he later died.
Moments after the shooting, police launched an investigation into the matter to determine just how the child was injured and where the .45-caliber gun that was involved in the shooting came from.
Andre and his older brother, Kris Wilder, were at home alone when the shooting occurred. Their mother, Shenita Wilder-Dancy and their stepfather, Darin Dancy, were at work.
After compiling all of the evidence, police ruled the incident an "accidental shooting," Calloway said.
Calloway then mapped out the details leading up to the fatal incident.
"On the day of the shooting, at approximately 2:45 p.m., Andre Wilder and his older brother were home alone at 310 Robson Circle," Calloway said. "The older brother noticed Andre was hiding something underneath himself on the couch. As the older brother began to extract the hidden item from underneath Andre, he discovered that it was a handgun.
"As he pulled the gun away from Andre, the firearm accidentally discharged," Calloway said.
Police discovered that the brothers found the handgun earlier that day while playing in the woods near their home.
Police ran a ballistics test on the weapon to determine who owned the gun and to find out if had been used in any other crime.
"(Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) agents assisted in tracing the firearm, which had been reported stolen from a parked vehicle at Wal-Mart back in 2006," Calloway said.
Andre's body was sent to the State Medical Examiner's office in Chapel Hill to determine an exact cause of death, Calloway added.
"Autopsy results from Andre Wilder indicate a single gunshot wound to the upper right cheek" Calloway said. "In conclusion, the shooting has been ruled as accidental, and no charges are being filed."