16-Year-Old Charged in Killing of 12-Year-Old and Assault of 9-Year-Old

A 16-year-old has been charged in connection with the death of a 12-year-old girl and the assault of a 9-year-old boy, Wake County deputies announced following an investigation in Fuquay-Varina. Deputies identified the incident location as Tobacco Barn Road and said charges were filed after they responded to a serious assault call.

Deputies first went to Tobacco Barn Road on Feb. 23, 2026, after receiving a report described as a serious assault. After investigating the scene, Wake County law enforcement officials announced charges against the 16-year-old the same day, linking the suspect to both the fatality of the 12-year-old girl and the injury to the 9-year-old boy.

The two victims are children by age: the deceased was 12 and the other injured victim was 9. Both incidents were handled by Wake County deputies operating in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, with the suspect identified as a 16-year-old at the time charges were announced on Feb. 23, 2026.

Wake County deputies have not released further identifying information on the victims or the charged juvenile in the initial announcement, and the department described its response as stemming from a serious assault call on Tobacco Barn Road. The department’s statement tied the location, the ages of the victims, and the date, Feb. 23, 2026, together as the basis for the charges announced that day.

This case remains the subject of an active law enforcement investigation by Wake County deputies. The charges announced on Feb. 23, 2026, reflect the department’s conclusion at the close of its initial on-scene inquiry into the deaths and injuries reported on Tobacco Barn Road in Fuquay-Varina.