A 7-year-old boy has died after a shooting outside a Burlington apartment complex that has sent the city’s police department scrambling from one lead to another in its frenetic search for the killer.
This hometown tragedy was set in motion shortly before 8:00 p.m. on Thursday when a quarrel broke out among some adults on the grounds of the Beaumont Apartments at 1334 Beaumont Court.
According to Burlington’s police department, 7-year-old Mason Jenkins was sitting outside his own apartment when the aforementioned argument escalated into gunfire, and a single, stray bullet pierced the young boy in the chest. Jenkins was airlifted to an area hospital for treatment after the shooting, although he ultimately succumbed to his injury on Sunday morning.
By the time that the 7-year-old passed away, the city’s police force had already arrested one person for firing the fatal gunshot while a second had been taken into custody as an accessory after the fact. On Monday, however, the local district attorney’s office dismissed the original charges against both of these individuals, who police later said had been mistakenly implicated in the shooting by dishonest testimony from witnesses.
Later that day, the police department announced that it had apprehended a new suspect, whom it went on to identify as Syquan Jaheem Mason-Rhames. A 24-year-old black male from 2418 Wimbledon Circle in Burlington, Mason-Rhames currently faces one felony count of first-degree murder as well as a misdemeanor charge for resisting an officer in the events that led up to his arrest.
Prior to Mason-Rhames’ capture, the police department had attributed the shooting to Tremaine Joseph Armstrong, an 18-year-old black male from 822 Oxford Lane in Burlington.
The department had initially charged Armstrong with the attempted first-degree murder of Jenkins, who was still alive at the time, as well as a second felony for allegedly discharging a firearm into an occupied motor vehicle. In the meantime, the department charged Kemontae Crosby, a 21-year-old black male from Graham, as an accessory after the fact in the attempted murder.
The department’s initial charges against Armstrong were nevertheless jettisoned by the D.A.’s office on Monday afternoon. At 1:42 p.m. the county’s clerk of superior court posted a formal dismissal notice from prosecutor William Reavis stating that “after further investigation, PC [or probable cause] no longer exists” to substantiate these crimes.
Police chief Alan Balog press conference Monday: witnesses obstructed investigation by giving false information on shooter
In a news conference later that day, Burlington’s police chief Alan Balog blamed the department’s mistaken arrests of Armstrong and Crosby on the mendacity of supposed eyewitnesses to Thursday’s shooting.
“Adults who were present for the argument and shooting murder of Mason Jenkins lied to the police about what happened,” Balog explained during the news conference.
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“These people intentionally obstructed justice and lied about who shot a 7-year-old. Charges are pending,” Balog said, “against these people.”
Balog added that other witnesses subsequently came forward to set the record straight, leading to the subsequent arrest of Mason-Rhames.
According to the police department, the 24-year-old murder suspect was found in one of two Beaumont Court apartments that officers searched in the wake of the shooting.
Mason-Rhames apparently did not give himself up readily during the search and consequently faces a misdemeanor charge for resisting an officer. According to court records, he tried to evade the arresting officer “by running across a four-lane highway” before he was hauled off to jail.
Balog noted that, despite being cleared of attempted first-degree murder, Armstrong still faces a felony charge for the alleged possession a stolen firearm. He added that the 18-year-old is currently being held in Alamance County’s jail having had his bond revoked from another, unrelated case.
The department has also dropped a concomitant charge against Crosby. According to police department, Crosby still faces charges for the possession of a stolen firearm and the illegal possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon.
School board/school system condolences
Alamance-Burlington school board members held a moment of silence to pray for the seven-year-old victim of last week’s shooting.
School board Seneca Rogers choked back tears Monday night as he offered condolences to the family and friends.
“There’s a seven-year-old kid who today did not go into a classroom,” Rogers said during the board and superintendent comments portion of the meeting Monday night.
“Young kids are having to deal with a thing that they should not have to deal with as seven-year- olds – to not have a classmate there with them, a teammate there with them. I know this evening [their class] was going to do a balloon release for this kid that played on their team. It makes no sense – it truly does not make any sense or for this to go on in this community. People want safe communities; kids want to just be kids and play, and this should not be a situation they should be having to deal with at this moment. This is just a truly sad situation.”
Meanwhile, ABSS chief communications officer Emily Lynn-Adkins also offered condolences on behalf of the school system.
“We, along with the community, are grieving the loss of such a young life,” Adkins said Monday night. “We know this tragic event will have ripples across the community and our students and staff will feel the impact. Our counselors and student support staff will be available to help students cope and discuss their grief. We send our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mason Jenkins.”
