JAMES CITY COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) — A 17-year-old boy was shot and killed overnight at a playground in James City County.
James City County Police say they were dispatched around 1:40 a.m. on Oct. 30 to the playground in Pocahontas Square in the 1900 block of Algonquin Trail.
Officers located the teen, identified as Carlos Fermir Vanegas-Escobar, when they arrived. He was suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators went door-to-door in the townhome community and looked for clues in a space where children ordinarily come to have fun. Police say they were familiar with the victim, but would not go into detail.
Deputy Police Chief Steve Rubino said Friday that Vanegas-Escobar “is known to the police department.”
So, why would he be in a playground at 1:30 a.m. in the morning in the first place? That’s at the heart of the investigation.
“What I think happened is he got set up,” a friend of the victim told WAVY.com. “They told him to meet him out there in the back in the park and he got shot in his back.”
Police are calling the deadly shooting very troubling.
“At 17, you should be worried about getting good grades, playing sports, looking for a future in college,” Rubino said. “And now that life has been cut short.”
Investigators believe the shooting happened sometime between 12:20 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. No other details in the case are available, but police say Vanegas-Escobar’s body has been taken to the medical examiner for autopsy.
The case remains under investigation. Anyone who might have security camera video or other information that could help police is asked to contact Investigator Logan English at 757-603-6033 or logan.english@jamescitycountyva.gov.
