'Good friend' Quarius Dunham remembered for smile, basketball skills after death at age 8
PORTSMOUTH — A third-grade class in Little Harbour School is missing "a good friend" following the shooting death of 8-year-old Quarius Naqua Dunham in South Carolina over Memorial Day weekend.
The school’s principal, Erin Lawson, said Quarius had dreams about playing professional basketball.
One of the first times Lawson met the young student, she recalled, he told her he would become an NBA player. The prediction was one of several memories Lawson shared Wednesday about the child who was killed as the result of what authorities are calling random gun violence.
“Quarius' smile is one of the first things you would notice about him and when he laughed, you couldn't help but smile yourself,” Lawson wrote in an email. “Quarius was a good friend who will be missed by those who knew him.”
On Saturday, May 28, Dunham and his father were traveling in a car near Florence, South Carolina when they were shot, allegedly by a resident of the city, which is nearly 83 miles east of Columbia, the state capital.
An affidavit filed in court by the Florence County Sheriff’s Office, states Quarius Dunham was shot in the back of the head.
The alleged shooter, Charles Montgomery Allen, a 40-year-old Florence resident, was arrested and has since been charged with one count of murder, one count of attempted murder, four counts of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
Lawson said Dunham’s death has sparked a school district-wide grief response, leading to increased school counseling services and help from the Seacoast Mental Health Center for SAU 52 students and staff.
Classes resumed at Little Harbour on Tuesday following the holiday weekend. Lawson said the loss of Quarius Dunham has been felt on both a community and individual level.
“While school has gone on, routine and structure have offered a sense of safety to some kids, others have needed quiet space to talk, process and grieve,” Lawson said.
Dunham is the second child from the Seacoast and southern Maine region to die as a result of gun violence in recent weeks. One week before Dunham and his father were shot, 22-month-old Octavia Huber Young was shot and killed May 21, allegedly by her uncle in Wells, Maine, during a domestic dispute.
Wells shooting: She was the ‘light of everyone’s life’: Family devastated over toddler's shooting death
The shooting deaths of local children comes among a national discussion on gun violence, which was sparked most recently by the Uvalde, Texas elementary school massacre. Just days after a mass shooting at a Buffalo grocery store, 19 students and two teachers were killed in a Texas fourth-grade classroom, the second-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.
The Gun Violence Archive reported that over 18,000 people have died as a result of gun violence in America this year as of Wednesday evening, including 152 children up to the age of 11 years old.
“My heart goes out to Quarius' family as they process this unfathomable loss,” Lawson said. “Our community is ready to embrace them and support them in their time of need.”
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'You will never be forgotten': Basketball club honors Quarius Dunham
The New Hampshire Spartans, a Hampton-based Amateur Athletic Union basketball club, is paying tribute to Quarius Dunham, too.
In a social media post, the club stated Dunham was one of its more “infectious players in the gym” and possessed a smile that was “bigger than life.”
“He was always at the gym early working on his craft,” the Facebook post reads.
The Spartans pledged to host a three-on-three basketball tournament fundraiser this summer, with all proceeds benefiting Dunham’s family. Details have not been announced.
“RIP ‘Q’ You will never be forgotten!” the organization wrote.
New details on accused South Carolina shooter
The Florence County Sheriff’s Office, which said Dunham’s father’s injuries were not believed to be life threatening, has stated Allen was randomly shooting at cars passing by his residence on Old River Road.
In an affidavit filed by the sheriff’s office, Allen was described as being “observed standing by the road shooting a rifle inside several vehicles."
According to court documents, the vehicles Allen shot at included a Nissan Kicks with Illinois license plates with three people inside, a GMC with South Carolina plates that had four individuals inside, a Nissan Rogue which had two people inside, and a Toyota Scion with South Carolina plates that had just one person inside.
On Tuesday, the sheriff’s office said Allen was being held at Florence County Detention Center and was denied bond.
A driver who attended Allen's bond hearing said a round hit the roof of his car as he drove past the suspect's Old River Road home, the Associated Press reported.
"I noticed the gentleman was taking aim and I said, 'He's going to shoot again,' so I ducked and stepped on the accelerator to get past him and he shot again," Calvin Cade said during the hearing, according to AP.
The affidavit notes Quarius Dunham, who was in the passenger seat, and his father were transported to McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence. The sheriff’s office said on Tuesday that an autopsy would be performed at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.
Florence County Sheriff T.J. Joye previously said Allen appeared to be high on drugs and that deputies had dealt with him in the past, according to an Associated Press report.
According to the Florence County Sheriff's Office’s last case update on Tuesday, no motive had been determined for why the shooting occurred. The incident remained under investigation and it was noted additional charges could be filed.
Megan Fernandes contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Quarius Dunham remembered as good friend in Portsmouth NH
