A 20-year-old woman died after being shot on Garner Road in Raleigh, and police say her girlfriend, 18-year-old Shaliah Nikole Battista, was arrested at the scene and now faces a murder charge in her death. Littlemaria Catalina Garcia was rushed to a hospital with life-threatening injuries but did not survive.
According to the Raleigh News & Observer, officers responded to 1107 Garner Road just after 3 p.m. Tuesday. A separate account from cbs17.com places the response around 3:10 p.m. in the 1100 block of Garner Road. Either way, Garcia was found with gunshot wounds and transported to a local hospital, where she later died.
Investigators say Garcia and Battista were in a dating relationship when the shooting happened, according to a preliminary investigation described by cbs17.com. Police have not said what led to the shooting, and they have not said which weapon they believe was used, according to the News & Observer's reporting.
Battista's Court Status and a Prior Weapons Charge
Battista was arrested at the scene and remains in Wake County custody. She was not given bond, the station reported, and she was scheduled to make her first appearance in Wake County court Wednesday afternoon.
The News & Observer also reports that Battista was charged this month with illegally carrying a concealed gun in Johnston County, and that court records identified the concealed weapon in that case as a black Glock 19 handgun. CBS 17 reported that the investigation into Tuesday's shooting remained ongoing.
How This Fits Into Raleigh's Broader Crime Numbers
The killing comes even as Raleigh's homicide count has been trending downward citywide. The Raleigh Police Department's own data show the city recorded four homicide incidents in the first quarter of 2026, down 64% from 11 in the same period of 2025. The department's first-quarter crime data also showed non-fatal shootings fell 11% during that stretch.
That decline continued into the second quarter, when homicides again totaled four, a 33% drop from six a year earlier, according to the department's second-quarter report. But non-fatal shootings ticked up 6% in that same quarter, even as overall violent crime in the city fell 1%.
Statewide, domestic violence remains a significant driver of fatal shootings. At least 213 domestic-violence-related homicides occurred in North Carolina in 2023, and firearms were used in nearly two-thirds of them, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins' Center for Gun Violence Solutions. The same data shows North Carolina's overall gun death rate was 30% higher in 2024 than in 2015, and that the state had the 12th-highest gun homicide rate in the country that year.
No further details about a possible motive, the weapon used, or the outcome of Battista's first court appearance have been released. Police have described the investigation as ongoing.
