Man kills daughter, son, then shoots self
By AMY JETER, The Virginian-Pilot
© May 29, 2002
Around 9:30 p.m., the wife, Liz Shell, left the house. She heard gunshots and called for help, said Norfolk police spokesman Chris Amos.
With a bullhorn and phone, police tried unsuccessfully for about six hours to contact Cedric B. Shell inside the Colin Drive home. They finally stormed the residence and found the 43-year-old father wounded, son Daniel dead and daughter Chante clinging to life.
Daniel, a sixth-grader at Rosemont Middle School, was pronounced dead at the scene. Chante, a second-grader at Crossroads Elementary School, died after 4 p.m. Tuesday at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, a spokeswoman said.
Cedric Shell was listed in critical condition at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. He faces murder charges if he recovers, police said.
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NORFOLK -- After arguing with his wife Monday night, a man fatally shot his 8-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son, then turned the gun on himself, police said.
A police officer Tuesday discards crime scene tape at the home in the 8100 block of Colin Drive where the shootings occurred. Photo by Mark Mitchell / The Virginian-Pilot.
Around 9:30 p.m., the wife, Liz Shell, left the house. She heard gunshots and called for help, said Norfolk police spokesman Chris Amos.
With a bullhorn and phone, police tried unsuccessfully for about six hours to contact Cedric B. Shell inside the Colin Drive home. They finally stormed the residence and found the 43-year-old father wounded, son Daniel dead and daughter Chante clinging to life.
Daniel, a sixth-grader at Rosemont Middle School, was pronounced dead at the scene. Chante, a second-grader at Crossroads Elementary School, died after 4 p.m. Tuesday at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, a spokeswoman said.
Cedric Shell was listed in critical condition at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. He faces murder charges if he recovers, police said.
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The deaths stunned neighbors and students and faculty at both schools where the children attended.
People described the Shells as the kind of parents who attended PTA meetings, took their children to festivals and air shows and had cookouts for their birthdays.
``I never heard them argue or yell in the yard about anything,'' said neighbor Connie Jennings.
Daniel had crushes on all the girls and tried to impress them with tricks on his bicycle, Jennings said. He was the ``welcome wagon'' for new children in the neighborhood.
``He knew everybody,'' neighbor Carl E. Carney said. ``I knew, when there was a knock, who was at the door.''
Chante was remembered as the quieter one. She liked art classes and working with her hands, said Crossroads Principal Mary K. Beers.
``Teachers talk about how much she smiles,'' Beers said.
Both schools sent home letters about the tragedy, and extra counselors were available if students needed them.
Counselors saw about 20 students Tuesday at Rosemont, and Principal Cathy J. Lassiter said she expected 50 to 75 students to need guidance today, as the news sinks in.
Students at Crossroads made cards for Chante while she was in the hospital.
One girl made a paper cross, decorated with vines and flowers and Daniel's name spelled out in gold glitter.
By 3:30 p.m., a few hours after police had left the 8100 block of Colin Drive, the girl tied the cross to a chain-link fence outside the Shells' house.
``We will think of you and of the times we played together,'' it reads. ``We will pray for you.''
Staff writer Kristen King contributed to this story.
Reach Amy Jeter at ajeter@pilotonline.com or 446-2793.