Teen accused of murdering North Carolina woman captured at Dulles airport before boarding flight to Africa

A 16-year-old boy wanted in connection with the murder of a North Carolina woman was taken into custody at Dulles International Airport last week as he attempted to catch a flight to Africa.    

Officers from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) apprehended the boy at the Virginia airport on Oct. 23, said a statement issued by CBP on Friday.

The 16-year-old is one of two minors accused in the murder of 68-year-old Pamela Shanks of Gastonia, North Carolina. Police say the woman was shot and killed on Oct. 19 while sitting on her back porch.

The boy taken into custody at Dulles faces multiple felony charges, including homicide, first-degree murder, discharge of a weapon into occupied property and possession of a handgun by a minor, the CBP statement said.

The suspect was identified while CBP officers were conducting "routine vetting of passengers departing on international flights," according to CBP. The CBP officers then turned the suspect over to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police.

The CBP discovered in a crime information database there was a warrant issued for the boy by the Gastonia Police Department.

"CBP officers apprehended the subject before he could board his scheduled departure flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia," the statement said. "CBP officers verified the warrant and confirmed that Gastonia Police intended to extradite the subject."

CBP officers also contacted the boy's parents to advise them of the situation. 

The other minor was also arrested earlier this week in upstate South Carolina, said a statement posted to Facebook by the Gastonia Police Department. 

Due to their age, no additional information was being shared about the two suspects, police said.