A man who shot a toddler to death out of revenge was himself murdered by a gang of fellow prisoners while behind bars. Semajs Short died after being attacked at Bertie Correction Institution in Windsor, North Carolina on Tuesday. The inmates targeted the 24-year-old in the housing area, according to the Department of Public Safety.
- Short was serving a 31-year sentence for his horrific crime. Short had been convicted of killing 2-year-old Dy’Unanna Anderson when he was only 17 years old. He was on trial along with Jamonte Moody, who pleaded guilty of attempting to murder the toddler’s grandmother. “It is my job as district attorney to hold people accountable for their actions and their roles in certain crimes,” District Attorney Valerie M. Asbell said at sentencing, according to RR Spin. “Our homes are where we should feel safe and when events like this occur, it shakes our sense of security in the sanctity of our own homes.”
- Short’s attack on the toddler and her grandmother were out of revenge. After 15-year-old Keyuon Garner was killed, Short and Moody went to the home of the sister of Teddy Anderson, who was wanted in connection with the killing. There, they stood on an AC unit at a window where Dy’Unanna, her mother, and her grandmother slept and started shooting. Dy’Unanna was shot through the head and died before reaching the hospital.
- Inmates heard about what Short did and decided to get their own revenge. Three other inmates were said to have been injured during the attack and were taken to an outside hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, Fox29 reports. Short was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics after efforts to revive him failed.
- Short died after serving only five years of his sentence. According to the Department of Public Safety, he was due to be released in 2044. The prison was placed on lockdown after the killing and the Windsor Police Department and the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation are looking into the attack.
