Wake Forest Engineer Arrested After Shooting Uncle in Foot, Setting Off Standoff

A City of Raleigh engineer is facing criminal charges after shooting a man believed to be her uncle in the foot at a Wake Forest home, then spending roughly 30 minutes barricaded inside the residence while officers negotiated her surrender.

Wake Forest police were called to Perini Court just before 1 p.m. on April 5 after reports of a shooting. Officers arrived to find a man outside with a gunshot wound to his foot. He declined transport to the hospital. Magda Holloway, 48, remained inside while law enforcement coordinated her exit, confirming through recorded radio communications that no additional weapons or people were in the home before taking her into custody without further incident.

The circumstances leading to the shooting were contested at the scene. The victim told officers the two had argued and the confrontation ended with him being shot in the foot. Other family members present disputed that account. With the victim refusing medical transport, no hospital documentation was available to corroborate either version of events, a complication that can affect both criminal charging and victim services.

Holloway was booked on a $200,000 secured bond and ordered to have no contact with the victim. She has no prior criminal record and is scheduled to return to Wake County court later this month.

The arrest carries implications beyond the Perini Court address. Holloway joined the City of Raleigh as an engineer in January 2026, just three months before the shooting. Before that, she held engineering positions with the Town of Wake Forest, the same municipality whose officers responded to Sunday's call, and the City of Charlotte. Her current employer now faces questions about what personnel or administrative review, if any, it may undertake in light of the charges.

Wake Forest police documented the 30-minute standoff through recorded radio traffic, capturing the tactical exchange officers used to bring Holloway peacefully to the front door.