Izabella Gamez was 18 when she was shot and killed at Dana Community Park in Flat Rock, North Carolina, on the night of April 27, 2026. A recent North Henderson High School graduate who planned to become an esthetician, Izabella was standing by a car with two other young women when gunfire rang out shortly after an arranged fight between a group of young women ended. Deputies arrived at 11:26 p.m.; Izabella was transported to a local hospital and later died of a gunshot wound.

Prosecutors say 19-year-old Leron Monteith brandished a handgun during the altercation, fired seven shots into the air and then three additional shots toward the car, one of which struck Izabella. Assistant District Attorney statements say 18-year-old Sheilah Tong drove Monteith to the park and then drove him away afterward. Monteith was charged with first-degree murder and Tong with accessory after the fact; both were held without bond at the Henderson County Detention Center.

Izabella’s sudden, public death has left family and the Henderson County community grieving. If anyone attended the park that night or has information about the shooting, please come forward.