Police: 8-year-old's killer fled Camden, hid in Tennessee

After fatally shooting an 8-year-old girl riding her bicycle in Camden - with a bullet intended for someone else - Tyhan Brown traveled more than 800 miles to a town on the Tennessee-Kentucky border, where he hid at his uncle's home for nearly a month, authorities said.

On Friday, around 8 a.m., U.S. marshals surrounded the home in Clarksville, Tenn., and knocked on the front door.

"Who is it?" the uncle asked, according to Marshal Danny Shelton, to which authorities replied, "Police."

The uncle then opened the door and called out to Brown. The 18-year-old walked in from another room and was handcuffed, Shelton said.

Brown's arrest elicited relief in Camden, where the slaying of Gabrielle Hill Carter stirred outcry, pushed hundreds to attend a vigil, and caused the girl's mother to plead for someone - anyone - to come forward.

Meresa Carter-Phillips, who gave birth to a boy a week after the slaying and named him King Gabriel after Gabby, welcomed the news of the arrest Friday, but said it did not change the fact that her daughter is gone.

"I still have a loss," she said.

Brown is awaiting extradition to Camden, where he is from, authorities said.

His mother, Shakia Land, has been charged with hindering the investigation by providing a false alibi for her son. Brown's girlfriend, Natasha Gerald, faced similar charges this week. Neither they nor Brown's uncle could be reached Friday.

Gabrielle, an honor-roll student who loved to read, sing, and ride her bicycle, was shot in the head around 8:30 p.m. Aug. 24 across the street from her home. She was rushed to Cooper University Hospital, where she died two days later.

Camden County Police Chief Scott Thomson said Friday that investigators had a good understanding of what transpired during the shooting, but needed time to build evidence.

Only a small group of people - most not Camden residents, he said - knew who might be responsible, which added to the challenge.

"The community was traumatized, and the community wanted to help but didn't possess the information," he said.

Thomson said the shooting was the result of gang violence and that more arrests were expected. The FBI has assisted in the investigation.

It remains unclear how Brown traveled to Tennessee, but authorities said he went there shortly after the shooting.

At Eighth and Spruce Streets, where the incident occurred, neighbor Renee Vaughns celebrated news of the arrest Friday and said she could not wait to tell her 10-year-old daughter, who was friends with Gabrielle.

"She was like the whole life of the block," Vaughns, 38, said of Gabrielle. When the two used to pass each other, Vaughns said, she would say, "Hi, Gabrielle, I love you," and Gabrielle would respond, "I love you, too."

Thinking about the shooting brought tears to Vaughns' eyes.

"Gabby, that baby didn't deserve that," she said.

A statement released Friday by Vahan and Danielle Gureghian, founders of CSMI LLC, which operates the Camden Community Charter School, where Gabrielle was about to enter third grade, called the arrest "great news."

The Gureghians covered Gabrielle's funeral costs and donated to the $76,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the shooter.

"While nothing will bring back Gabby, and a suspect's capture will do little to ease her family's grief, it sends a clear message to others who would dare endanger a child," the Gureghians' statement said. "You will be caught no matter how far you run."

mboren@phillynews.com

856-779-3829

@borenmc