Police have charged a man they say shot and seriously injured an Army National Guard combat medic during a shootout in the stairwell of her east Charlotte home. 
 
 Reco Latur Dawkins Jr., 23, was charged with attempted murder, felony breaking and entering and conspiracy. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said he turned himself in to the department’s violent criminal apprehension team Sunday morning. 
 
 Semantha Bunce was feeding her baby just before 10 a.m. Tuesday when intruders knocked on the front door, rang the doorbell and then kicked in the door. Bunce grabbed her gun met them at her bedroom door and exchanged gunfire with them, family members told the Observer. 
 
 She was shot several times and was recovering Sunday at Carolinas Medical Center. Her baby wasn’t injured during the exchange of gunfire at the home on Matlea Court, off the Plaza Road extension. Police initially said there was more than one intruder, but on Sunday they didn’t say whether investigators were looking for anyone else in connection with the shooting. 
 
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 Bunce, 21, is a member of the U.S. Army’s 105th Engineer Battalion, based in Raeford. Paul Bunce III told WSOC-TV he believes his wife’s training as a combat medic allowed her to stay mentally focused and calm during what was a fight for her life. 
 
 The case, which police and family members believe was an act of random crime, has made national headlines. 
 
 Hollie Ritchie, Bunce’s friend and fellow soldier with the Raeford-based 105th Engineer Battalion, established a Go Fund Me site to help pay for Bunce’s utility bills, child care, travel expenses, home repairs, medical bills and missed wages. 
 
 Paul Bunce’s employer, MAA, has also established a fund on YouCaring , a fund-raising site. The company manages apartment complexes in the Carolinas and 13 other states. 
 
 Sunday’s arrest was Dawkins’ seventh in the past three years, including several on charges of breaking and entering, according to the Mecklenburg Sheriff’s Office. 
 
 Dawkins has a criminal history dating to his teenage years, according to court records. He was convicted of breaking and entering in 2010 and sentenced to three years of probation. ||||| CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Police have charged a man with attempted murder after an alleged shootout with an Army National Guard combat medic in the stairwell of her Charlotte, North Carolina home. 
 
 The medic's husband says 21-year-old Semantha Bunce was feeding her baby just before 10 a.m. Tuesday when intruders knocked on the front door, rang the doorbell and kicked in the door. Paul Bunce says his wife grabbed her gun and exchanged gunfire with them before they fled. 
 
 Semantha Bunce was shot several times and is recovering in a hospital. The baby wasn't injured. 
 
 The woman's father-in-law, Paul Bunce Jr., told CBS affiliate WBTV she was forced to defend her family. 
 
 "I think it was a shock to the intruders just as it was to her," Bunce said. "Semantha is not out of the woods yet. Everybody is concerned about her." 
 
 Neighbors told the station Bunce's husband was at work and her other child, a toddler, was at school when the shooting happened. 
 
 Bunce's husband told the station his wife is a fighter. 
 
 Local media outlets report that 23-year-old Reco Latur Dawkins Jr. is charged with attempted murder, felony breaking and entering, and conspiracy. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say he turned himself in Sunday morning. 
 
 Hollie Ritchie, a family friend who served with Bunce in the National Guard, told WBTV that Bunce is receiving visitors, eating, talking and walking. 
 
 Dawkins is being held in jail. ||||| A woman was taken to the hospital with critical injuries after police say she was shot when she interrupted a burglary inside her northeast Charlotte home. 
 
 Police say the woman was inside her home along the 6000 block of Matlea Court just before 9:51 a.m. Tuesday morning with her infant child. That's when police say someone kicked in her front door and shot her. 
 
 The shooter then ran from home. 
 
 The woman, later identified as 21-year-old Semantha Bunce, had to be transported to Carolinas Medical Center-Main with critical injuries. The child was not injured. 
 
 Neighbors tell WBTV Bunce's husband was at work and her other child was at school when the shooting happened. 
 
 According to police, officers are searching for the person and say initial information indicates Bunce did not know the shooter. 
 
 Neighbor Joseph Chambers said he thinks he heard the shots fired Tuesday morning. 
 
 “I heard a couple gunshots but at the time I didn’t know they were gunshots. I thought it was the people behind me working on their house,” Chambers explained. 
 
 He said the incident has him worried . 
 
 “I got a son too and he’s not even quite two years old yet. It kind of scares me thinking that could be and him or my fiancé and him in there,” Chambers explained. 
 
 Neighbor Nadine Gillen woke up to police knocking on her door. They were canvassing the neighborhood, hoping for information that would lead them to the shooter. 
 
 "It's scary to come downstairs to such a terrible scene. Everyone around here is pretty friendly. It's just really scary," Gillen said. 
 
 Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call 704-432-TIPS and speak directly to a Homicide Unit Detective. Detective Fitch is the lead detective assigned to the case. 
 
 The public can also call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or visit the Crime Stoppers mobile app website at http://charlottecrimestoppers.com/. 
 
 Copyright 2015 WBTV. All rights reserved. ||||| People on Matlea Court are concerned about their neighbor, a 21-year-old mother that was shot in her home Tuesday. 
 
 Police say Semantha Bunce was taken to the hospital after they responded to a call regarding an assault with a deadly weapon. Investigators say Bunce was home with her baby just before ten o'clock in the morning when someone kicked in the front door. 
 
 Bunce was shot. The baby was not hit or hurt. 
 
 Semantha's husband, Paul Bunce III, said his wife is a fighter. She's in a lot of pain and still in the ICU. He also wanted everyone to know family is in town and taking care of their kids. 
 
 Her father-in-law, Paul Bunce Jr, says Semantha was feeding the baby when someone knocked and rang the doorbell. She was hesitant to answer the door. 
 
 “I think it was a shock to the intruders just as it was to her,” the father-in-law said. “Semantha is not out of the woods yet. Everybody is concerned about her.” 
 
 He added that Semantha was in the National Guard, and did fight back. There are several bullet holes that are visible from the outside of the back of the home. One of the bullets entered John Marshall's home next door. 
 
 "I heard a big gunshot. Then all of a sudden I heard the mini-blinds make a loud noise," he said. "My wife saw it and told me, and I got scared." 
 
 Marshall's wife was not home at the time of the shooting, and discovered the bullet hole in a bedroom about 20 minutes after the shots were fired. Marshall uses a wheelchair to get around and was not able to catch a glimpse of who fired at his neighbor. He says by the time he got downstairs the police were already there. 
 
 WBTV asked Marshall if there is a lot of crime in his neighborhood. 
 
 "We had a couple break-ins down the street and spray paint all over the neighborhood last summer," Marshal said. 
 
 Police reports from the last month show there was a car stolen a block away from someone's driveway and there was an armed robbery. The victim of the armed robbery explained she was picking up a friend on Matlea Court when she was robbed at gunpoint in her car. 
 
 She said she's been so freaked out about the incident that she doesn't really like to discuss it. She told police at the time the two men who robbed her were wearing bandanas. She's thankful she wasn't hurt, but sorry to hear about the mother being shot. She has no idea if her case is at all related to what happened to the mother down the street, and says she wishes she could give information that was more valuable to help with this woman's case. 
 
 People who live on and near Matlea Court say they have been taking turns driving around the neighborhood since there has been no arrest. 
 
 “Sometimes it takes something like this for the community to pull together and then possibly have some community watch,” Semantha's father-in-law said. 
 
 Police say this is an active investigation. They have not released a description of the shooters. 
 
 Semantha's husband told WBTV that they don't want to discuss the case because it's an ongoing investigation, but says he is thankful for the support. He says his job set up a fund to help the family. 
 
 Copyright 2015 WBTV. All rights reserved. ||||| Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office (Photo: MCSD) 
 
 CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The man who police believe shot a young mother, turned himself in Sunday. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police say Reco Latur Dawkins, Jr. walked into the police station and surrendered. Police say Dawkins and another suspect broke into a house in the Hickory Grove neighborhood, Tuesday. 
 
 "They left a lot of evidence,'" said Paul Bunce, husband of Semantha Bunce. Semantha was home with their 4 month old son when police say two men violently broke into their home. Police say Bunce was shot and then the suspects took off. Bunce was shot in the stomach and arm. Her husband says she is making progress but recovery isn't easy. 
 
 "We have good days and bad days." Sunday became a better day when they heard the news of the arrest. 
 
 "As soon as we heard the news we definitely uplifted our spirits." 
 
 They say prayers and fundraising from friends and strangers has helped a lot too. The YouCaring page setup by Paul Bunce's coworkers has already exceeded it's $5,000 goal. 
 
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– Home invaders messed with the wrong woman in Charlotte, NC. Semantha Bunce, a 21-year-old Army National Guard combat medic, was breastfeeding her 4-month-old son in her bedroom when she heard the doorbell just before 10am last Tuesday, reports WSOC. Seconds later, intruders kicked in the door and opened fire, leaving several bullet holes in Bunce's home, per WBTV. Bunce, who grabbed her own weapon and fired at the intruders, was shot in the stomach and arm before they fled, per WCNC and CBS News; her infant was uninjured. She was taken to a local hospital in critical condition. She's "not out of the woods yet," her father-in-law says. "Everybody is concerned about her." Police say 23-year-old Reco Latur Dawkins Jr., who has twice been convicted of breaking and entering, turned himself in on Sunday. He's now been charged with attempted murder, felony breaking and entering, and conspiracy. Police say they're still searching for a second suspect. Bunce's husband—who was at work at the time of the shooting, per WBTV—says his wife's National Guard training likely helped her stay calm while fighting for her life, per the Charlotte Observer. "I think it was a shock to the intruders just as it was to her," her father-in-law adds. Two fundraising pages have been set up to help pay Bunce's medical bills, child care, travel expenses, and missed wages. (This woman foiled an intruder with her medieval skills.)