A young Stuarts Draft woman was fatally shot Sunday afternoon in a quiet Staunton neighborhood less than 20 feet from children’s chalk drawings smearing in the rain.
Staunton police identified the victim as Amanda Kaye Bush, whom neighbors on the 2700 block of Knollwood Drive described as a “sweet girl” who had been babysitting for a family in the neighborhood for “only a couple of weeks.” She frequently walked children home from the bus stop.
Neighbors said they called 911 and stayed with the woman in the street, where she was pronounced dead.
“We got a pulse and then lost it,” said Diana Craig, who has lived in the neighborhood for seven years.
Police continue to pursue John Michael Mason, 27, who is wanted for questioning in relation to the shooting. Police said he is a white man and was last seen driving a 2008 Dodge Charger with Virginia tag XVD9908.
Mason, of Stuarts Draft, is 5 feet 9 inches tall and 200 pounds, according to the Virginia State Police sex offender registry, which lists Mason as on probation for 2002 and 2003 convictions in relation to having carnal knowledge of a child aged 13 to 15 in Staunton and Augusta County.
In a news release, police said the public should not attempt to contact or detain Mason, but should report his location to authorities. Court records show Mason convicted of hit-and-run, eluding police and maiming caused by DWI in 2003, as well as under-aged possession of alcohol, petty larceny and a gas drive-off.
Staunton Police Officer Lisa Klein declined to describe what provoked the shooting, or how many shots were fired.
The violence shook the west-side community that Craig described as “a good street for kids.”
“We never had any trouble here ... this is a tragedy,” Craig said.
Police ask anyone with information about the shooting to call 911, the Staunton Police Department (332-3842) or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-322-2017.
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