Vater was arrested after a gun that Raleigh police said belonged to him went off in his room. The bullet then went through the wall and into another room where Nathan Clark was staying. The bullet hit the boy, killing him.
"You think about your own kid being there, and it's tough," said Barbara Anderson.
Anderson was one of several chaperons of nearly 30 students on a band field trip. They found themselves staying at the Comfort Suites when their original hotel lost their reservations. When her group returned to the hotel Friday night, they found it had turned into a crime scene.
"I went and talked to the detective and asked him what should we do, could we come in, and he had told me that there was an accidental homicide," said Anderson.
Anderson would later learn a child was the victim and that it happened on the second floor, the same floor she was staying on with more than two dozen children. While the shooting didn't involve a room her group was staying in, the incident gave her pause.
"Had I known the bullet went through the wall, I probably would been in a different state of mind, cause you just don't think anything like that is going to happen," she said.
She said she was thankful they were not there during the time of the shooting and began making plans to notify parents what had happened.
Vater's latest address on file lists a Knightdale residence. There was no word on what he was doing at the hotel or why he allegedly had the gun. ABC11 found he has a rap sheet dating back to the 1980s. The list of charges throughout the decades includes communicating threats, assault, and violating protective orders.
Fifth grade photo of Nathan Clark from the 2012 Lewisville Elementary School yearbook. (Photo Courtesy: Winston-Salem Journal)
Clark was in Raleigh from Lewisville to play in the Capital Area Soccer League shootout. The league released this statement:
"We awoke this morning with great sadness to the unsettling news that Nathan Clark tragically lost his life late Friday night. Our thoughts and prayers are with Nathan's family and to his extended soccer family: the North Carolina Fusion players, parents, and coaches. We find some solace knowing that a man has been charged in connection with this incident. However, we can only imagine the pain and sorrow the Clark family is experiencing in the wake of this tragedy. We respect their wishes for privacy during this difficult time."
As for Anderson, who has taken students on field trips for years, she said this experience has her rethinking the next one.
"I've taken kids everywhere. I've never given it a thought, but I just don't know. It's a huge responsibility, and now that you know something that random can happen, it's tough to volunteer for something like that," said Anderson.
Report a Typo