A female Fort Bragg sergeant has been charged in the shooting death of another soldier.
Sergeant Tiara Nicole Vinson is being accused of fatally shooting 26-year-old Spc. Kelia Horton outside of a Fayetteville, North Carolina, home. Horton was dating Vinson’s ex-boyfriend, prompting both women to get into a verbal altercation before the fatal shooting took place, police allege.
The tragic incident took place on Friday, May 7, at around 1:30 PM, police say. Vinson, 26, was arrested the next day and now faces a first-degree murder charge as well as a charge for shooting a firearm into occupied property, AP News reported.
The fatal shooting took place in broad daylight. https://t.co/eQqpgv08b7
— ABC News (@ABC) May 11, 2021
Both women were active-duty service members stationed at Fort Bragg, a military base located about 12 miles northwest of Fayetteville. Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West told WRAL that both women pulled up to Vinson’s ex-boyfriend’s home at around the same time, leading to a blowout argument.
“What we appear to have is that the defendant had a previous relationship with a gentleman that lived at the location where the homicide occurred,” he told the North Carolina news outlet.
West continued, “Our victim was in an existing romantic relationship with the gentleman that lived in the home. A verbal altercation took place between the two of them, and our allegation is that the defendant, at that point, began firing into the car.”
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According to the Fayetteville Observer, local officers attempted to save Horton’s life after being found in a driveway with a gunshot wound. She was transported to a hospital, where she died from her injuries.
Family members remember Horton as a loving and giving mother. Her cousin, Jadiah Farris, spoke with WRAL about the young servicewoman, saying, “My cousin was the sweetest. She would give you the shirt off of her back. There was nothing bad you can say about Kelia.”
Vinson is currently being held without bail at the Cumberland County Jail. No word yet on when Vinson will face trial.
