DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C. — The mother of a 15-year-old boy shot and injured Wednesday in Davidson County said her son was asked by the suspect to go move wood before the shooting.
Tasha Abate said Ryan Peace asked her son and another boy to come help move wood for his grandmother Wednesday.
She said Peace took them to his house where they moved the wood. While the victim and the other boy were outside joking around, Abate said Peace came outside and asked if they were talking about him.
According to Abate, Peace then went back inside the house and came out with a gun. Abate said Peace then asked her son if he believed the gun was loaded, and he shot him.
"I want (Peace) to know that he tried to take my son down, but my son is strong and resilient," Abate said. "He tried his hardest, but he could not take him down, and he never well."
Davidson County 911 communications got a call about a teen with a gunshot wound being taken to the hospital by Ryan Joseph Peace, 19, of Lexington.
The 911 operator told Peace to pull over to meet EMS and deputies on Jersey Church Road at HWY 8 south of Lexington. When deputies arrived, they found the teen lying in a red truck in a church parking lot.
Deputies say Peace, the victim, and the witness provided a vague story of a suspect in a black jeep committing a drive-by and striking the teen in the chest and back.
After an investigation, detectives determined Peace had shot the teen. Investigators also found out Peace threatened the teen and the witness as he told them to lie to deputies about the shooting.
Officials said the teen had multiple wounds from what appeared to be pellets from a shotgun. Abate said her son is still in the hospital and in a lot of pain. She said he will be there until at least Monday and may need surgery.
"He's got a long road of recovery ahead of him," said Abate.
Ryan Peace is facing the following charges:
- One count of assault with a deadly intent to kill, inflicting serious injury
- Two counts of intimidating state's witness
- One count of possession of a firearm by a felon
Abate said she wants there to be harsher consequences for Peace.
"This should be premeditated attempted murder," Abate said. "I feel like this was planned. (My son) was lured down there to Ryan’s house on false pretenses and (Ryan) planned to murder my son."
Abate said her son and Ryan Peace met through another friend at a bonfire. She said they interacted occasionally but it "wasn't an all-the-time thing."