CRAMERTON, N.C. — Police are investigating after a 17-year-old girl was critically hurt in a shooting at a Gaston County fast-food restaurant Tuesday night.
Officers said they are looking for 19-year-old Michael Bolch, who is accused of shooting Nasani Raley.
The shooting happened around 10 p.m. in the parking lot of the Burger King on Market Street in Cramerton.
When officers got to the restaurant, they found Raley in the parking lot. She had been shot in the back and was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
Raley had been working at the Burger King, and police think she may have been taking out the trash when someone shot her in the back and left her on the ground bleeding.
While Raley’s family members asked for prayers for the girl, who was set to graduate from Stuart W. Cramer High School, her grandfather told Channel 9 he was praying for the man who shot her in the parking lot.
“I have to pray for him (the shooter),” Phillip McLean said. But he also said he wants that person to understand the pain that Raley and her family are dealing with.
“It’s just a terrible, awful thing for somebody to do to a human being,” McLean said.
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The girl’s father, Amur Bey, said his daughter underwent emergency surgery Wednesday at Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte.
“This don’t make sense for a person to do this to another human being,” he said. “It’s hard for me to rest knowing my daughter is fixing to go through so many complications through surgery for something that shouldn’t have ever happened.”
McLean told Channel 9 Friday that Raley has been taken off a breathing tube and that her health is improving. They expect her to move out of intensive care soon.
Raley is planning to go into the Air Force while taking college courses. Her father told Channel 9 she wants to carry on the tradition of military service in her family.
“I hope this incident doesn’t stop her from achieving her dream,” Bey said.
Police called the shooting an isolated incident. They were reviewing security camera video to help with the investigation.
Bolch is also facing charges of first-degree kidnapping and armed robbery.
No other information has been released.
This is an ongoing investigation. Check back with wsoctv.com for more information.
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