Gracie Elizabeth Faye Landa, 18, was taken into custody on Monday and charged with the May 30, shooting death of 23-year-old Christopher Piedrasanta-Perez

Landa was reported missing from her home in Tampa in June 2023 at the age of 16

A year later, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children said authorities believed she had traveled to Durham and no public updates on her whereabouts had been issued until her arrest this week

The victim Piedrasanta-Perez and two women were sitting in a car near Whippoorwill Park around 12:30 am on May 30

Two to three suspects emerged from the woods and opened fire, killing Piedrasanta-Perez, injuring the women

Investigators recovered at least 40 shell casings from the scene, a mix of 9mm and .223 rifle rounds

The fight according to the warrant, stemmed from an on-going conflict over a romantic relationship, the trio in the car were present because a friend planned to confront another girl, but they were ambushed on arrival

The teen suspect Landa who remains in the Durham County Jail without bond, made her first court appearance on Tuesday and is scheduled to return to court on Sept. 11

Gracie Elizabeth Faye Landa [photo], 18, who was reported missing from her home in Tampa in June 2023 at the age of 16, reappeared Monday when she arrested and charged with murder in Durham, NC

A teenage girl who was reported missing from her home in Florida, more than two years ago has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with a deadly shooting in Durham, North Carolina.
Gracie Elizabeth Faye Landa of Burlington, now 18, was taken into custody on Monday and charged with the May 30 shooting death of Christopher Piedrasanta-Perez, 23, of Durham, according to the arrest warrant.
Gracie Landa was reported missing from her home in Tampa in June 2023 at the age of 16.
A year later, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children said authorities believed she had traveled to Durham. However, no public updates on her whereabouts had been issued until her arrest this week.
The Durham police report said Piedrasanta-Perez and two women were sitting in a car near Whippoorwill Park around 12:30 a.m. when ‘two to three suspects’ emerged from the woods and opened fire on their vehicle.

Christopher Piedrasanta-Perez [photo], 23, was shot in the the head sitting in a car on May when a group of armed people opened fire on the vehicle. Gracie Elizabeth Faye Landa, considered missing for the past two years, has been arrested in connection with the shooting

According to a newly released search warrant, Piedrasanta-Perez and the two women were at the park that night because one of their friends planned to fight another girl. However, when Piedrasanta-Perez’s Honda Accord pulled up, two or three people came out of the woods and began shooting at his car. Piedrasanta-Perez critically wounded by a gunshot was unable to drive away.
Piedrasanta-Perez who was hit in the head was killed, while the two women sustained injuries.
Investigators recovered at least 40 shell casings from the scene, a mix of 9mm and .223 rifle rounds, according to an autopsy report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Surveillance video from a nearby building captured two suspects firing at the car before fleeing on foot, a search warrant states.
Authorities have not said how Landa is connected to the shooting or whether she was one of the gunmen as her arrest warrant does not clarify whether she was in the car or nearby at the time of the incident.
The investigation is ongoing.

Durham Police at the scene of the Whippoorwill Park shooting on May 30 after Christopher  Piedrasanta-Perez and two women were sitting in a car near Whippoorwill Park around 12:30 a.m. were shot by several suspects who emerged from the woods

The fight according to the warrant, stemmed from an on-going conflict over a romantic relationship.
Piedrasanta-Perez and the others in the car were reportedly present because a friend planned to confront another girl, but when they arrived, they were ambushed.
The slain man’s mother, Amalia Perez, maintains that her son had just completed a DoorDash delivery with his girlfriend and was sitting in the car when the shooting occurred.
‘Several people came out of the woods and started shooting at them,’ she said, adding that police informed her that additional suspects remain at large.
‘I have faith that they will get punished for what they did, because my son didn’t deserve this,’ Amalia Perez said, adding ‘He was not out there looking for trouble. I really don’t know why this happened. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.’

The shooting in Whippoorwill Park in Durham, NC, on May 30, appears to have stemmed from an ongoing conflict involving a planned fight between two other individuals, according to court docs

Piedrasanta-Perez was described by family members as a kind and hardworking young man who was the oldest of four siblings.
A GoFundMe campaign, launched in his memory said his ‘presence brought light and comfort to the family.’
‘Christopher was more than just a son, a brother, a friend, he was a light in our lives. With his calm and cool presence, he had a way of making everyone around him feel safe and seen. 
‘Whether through his quiet smile, his thoughtful words, or the comforting energy he brought into a room, he left an impression that won’t be forgotten,’ the fundraising page reads, but that fundraising page is no longer accepting donations.
Landa who remains in the Durham County Jail without bond, made her first court appearance on Tuesday. She is scheduled to return to court on September 11.