Makiia Slade, a 9-year-old from Edenton, North Carolina, was shot and killed while sitting in a car with her mother on July 24, 2020. The shooting happened around 10:20 p.m. in the Lynnhaven Trailer Park area on U.S. Highway 17 near West Queen Street. Makiia was pronounced dead at the scene; her mother, Shatory Hunter Slade, was taken to Vidant Memorial Hospital with injuries.

Investigators from the Chowan County Sheriff’s Office and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation treated the case as a homicide. Witness statements and surveillance footage identified a gold SUV as a vehicle of interest that followed the victims’ car just before the shooting. The SUV’s driver was located and cooperated with investigators, but no suspects have been publicly named and the investigation remains open.

Makiia was a rising fourth-grade student at D.F. Walker Elementary School and was remembered by teachers as a bright child with a warm smile. If anyone has information that could help with this case, please contact the Chowan County Sheriff’s Office.