Eight-year-old Jenesis Dockery was staying at a babysitter’s home in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on July 25, 2023, when she sustained a gunshot wound to the head. She was transported to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center and later to UNC Chapel Hill but died of her injuries on July 27, 2023. An autopsy released in late August 2023 listed cause of death as a gunshot wound to the head and the manner of death as undetermined, citing uncertainty about whether the shooting was accidental or intentional.

Investigators determined an 11-year-old boy at the babysitter’s residence had obtained a firearm and discharged it; detectives submitted a complaint to the Division of Juvenile Justice on August 10, 2023, recommending charges including two counts of larceny of a firearm and one count of manslaughter, and the juvenile was taken into custody on August 11, 2023. The Dockery family has pressed for answers about how the child accessed the gun and has urged accountability for any negligent adults.

If anyone was at the babysitter’s home that day or has information about how the firearm was stored or accessed, please come forward.