One Teen Dead, One Critical After Attempted Murder/Suicide

"MARION, NC — Investigators are still sifting through the facts of what occurred on Roberta Street Tuesday night that left one teen dead and another clinging to life.

"`We feel pretty strongly this was a murder/suicide attempt, but we haven’t completely verified that scenario,` McDowell County Sheriff Dudley Greene stated late Tuesday night.

"As of Wednesday, 16-year-old Abraham Isai Valadez, of Sixth Street in Marion, was in critical condition at Memorial Mission Hospital in Asheville, having suffered a gunshot wound to the head.

"His friend, 18-year-old Daniel De Jesus Umana-Escobar, of Tunnel Road in Marion, died at the scene, having suffered a gunshot wound to the torso. His body was sent for autopsy in Winston-Salem.

"Capt. Shanon Smith of the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office said detectives found a handgun at the scene.

"`We have no information to suggest that anyone else was involved other than these two individuals,` Smith stated. `We are not ruling anything out, but we are not actively pursuing any suspects at this time.`"

Source: hickoryrecord.com...