In the small community of Quick, West Virginia, a sleepover between two young friends turned into a tragedy in the late hours of Sunday, December 22, 2013. Ten-year-old Payton McKenzie-Bea Thomas, a girl with a tomboy spirit, was spending the night with her nine-year-old male friend at his grandparents' house on Pentacre Road. The two children made a fateful decision to secretly take a. 410 shotgun from the home.
As they were walking down the road together, the firearm discharged. Payton, who was walking behind her friend, was struck in the arm and chest. The shot caused devastating internal injuries, damaging her lungs, spleen, and liver.
She was rushed to Charleston General Hospital but succumbed to her wounds early on the morning of Monday, December 23, 2013.
The incident was described as a tragic accident, a case of "kids being kids" with a heartbreaking outcome. The authorities investigated the shooting, but no arrests were made, and no criminal suspects were identified, as the event was deemed a terrible misfire. The community was left to mourn the sudden and profound loss of a young girl, while two families were forever changed by the unfortunate event. Payton was a third-grade student at Ruffner Elementary School who loved the outdoors, basketball, and hiking with her father.
