Police have released the identity of a child who was shot and killed in North Carolina on Sunday.

Quazariya G. Williams, 7, was pronounced dead at Scotland Memorial Hospital in Laurinburg, North Carolina, Maxton police said, according to local news station WBTW.

The man alleged to have shot the child is 31-year-old Dedric Page, who police said fired shots into a car with five other people inside around 2 p.m. Sunday in Maxton. The condition of the other five people in the car is currently unknown.

Maxton is a town located about 40 miles southwest of Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Page was arrested not long after the shooting. His charges include first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle, discharging a firearm in city limits and possession of a firearm by a felon.

On Tuesday afternoon, Page was denied bond for two of his charges. His next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 26.

USA TODAY could not immediately contact Page’s lawyer for comment.

Victim remembered as cheerleader and ‘a sweet girl’

Maxton police Lieutenant Patrick Hunt told WBTW that Quazariya was remembered as a cheerleader and a “sweet girl who has a lot going on in her life.”

Police said the shooting happened following a dispute between Page and the girl’s mother.

On Sunday, Townsend Elementary School, where Quazariya was attending elementary school, posted a memorial for the 7-year-old.

“Q. Williams – Always on our minds and forever in our hearts – #Sleepwellourangel,” the Facebook post said.

This story has been updated to add new information.

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.

Four undefeated defending state champions with long winning streaks will seek back-to-back titles when the North Carolina High School Athletic Association playoffs begin on Monday.

The state playoffs are starting a week later than originally scheduled due to devastation wrought in the western part of the state by Hurricane Helene.

High School On SI is your place to follow along live with all four NCHSAA classifications. We’ll have in-game scores and every final as well instant updates to each bracket

Here are the North Carolina high school football playoff brackets, with matchups and game times for every classification. To access the bracket for each classification, click on the hyperlinks below.

Defending champion Weddington enter the playoffs on a 15-game winning streak. The Warriors are 9-0 and have dominated their last six opponents.

The season started with a signature 13-7 win over independent schools power Providence Day. There was also a close call against Butler.

There will be some big-time challengers. In fact, Grimsley got the top seed in the West after going 10-0. The Whirlies didn’t have a close game and are led by Tennessee commit Faison Brandon at quarterback. Brandon threw for 1,761 yards and 20 touchdowns with just one interception. Senior tailback Michael Summers, who has 1,302 yards and 31 touchdowns.

If those teams meet, it will be in the semifinals.

Undefeated Cleveland is the top seed in the East. Quarterback Jackson Byrd, an East Tennessee State commit, has thrown for 2,856 yards and 33 touchdowns with 6 interceptions.

Hickory rolls into the playoffs on a 26-game winning streak, yet the Red Tornadoes only got the No. 3 seed. They have been dominant except for a 35-20 win over a solid Statesville team. Statesville was up 20-14 before Hickory finished strong.

Quarterback Brady Stober, a Samford commit, has 2,342 yards and 26 touchdowns versus 3 interceptions. Senior tailback Isaiah Lackey had 782 yards and 23 touchdowns rushing.

Top seed Erwin is 8-1, with a non-conference loss to Mountain Heritage. The Warriors held off A.C. Reynolds 28-21 to end the regular season.

South Point, the No. 2 seed in the West, shook off a conference loss to Ashbrook earlier in the season. The Red Raiders have a ground-oriented attack with Patrick Blee and Chanyce Ford each running for 11 touchdowns.

Havelock, the No. 1 seed in the East, also had to get past a conference loss. Quarterback Jaylen Hewitt has thrown for 3,174 yards and 31 touchdowns. But he has been intercepted 14 times.

Reidsville has won 22 in a row. The Rams are 10-0 this season loaded with stars on both sides of the ball but they’re going to have to overcome the loss of star tailback Jariel Cobb. The Air Force commit suffered a broken collarbone in the last game of the regular season.

Quarterback Dionte Neal, a converted defensive back, has been spectacular with 2,019 yards and 26 touchdowns with just one interception. Neal also has 447 yards and 7 touchdowns rushing. Cam’ron Jones has 54 catches for 844 yards and 9 touchdowns.’

And, of course, five-star tight end Kendre Harrison returned after three games with Providence Day. 

There will be challengers. Shelby, the No. 2 seed, has won seven in a row after a 1-2 start. Monroe, the No. 3 seed, is 9-0. The Red Hawks have 43 rushing touchdowns.

Northeastern, the No. 1 seed in the East, relies on an aerial attack led by senior quarterback Trevaris Jones, who has 2,805 yards and 34 touchdowns with only 2 interceptions.

Tyell Sanders has 35 catches for 736 yards and 13 touchdowns. He’s one of five receivers averaging over 20 yards a catch.

Mount Airy has won 40 consecutive games and back-to-back state championships. The Granite Bears are the No. 1 seed in the West as they go for a three-peat. 

The Granite Bears are a run-first team with 48 rushing touchdowns. Sophomore tailback Taeshon Martin leads the way with 1,721 yards and 28 touchdowns. Bryson Taylor paces a stingy defense with 6 interceptions while D.J. Joyce has 14.5 sacks.

Undefeated Mountain Heritage (8-0) is the No. 2 seed in the West. The Cougars have long favored a run-oriented offense heavily featuring the quarterback. Senior Brandon Quinn has 1,197 yards and 20 touchdowns while also throwing 7 touchdown passes.

Then there’s the possibility Mount Airy and Tarboro could play for the championship for the third year in a row. Tarboro (9-1) is the top seed in the East.

North Carolina voters may have rejected her at the ballot box Tuesday, but Michele Morrow is hoping President-elect Donald Trump won’t when he takes office in January.

Morrow, a Republican homeschooling advocate who lost to Democrat Mo Green in the race to become North Carolina’s superintendent of public schools, is now asking Trump to name her as the new U.S. Secretary of Education.

Most education policy and funding in the U.S. is carried out by state and local governments, not the federal government. The federal education department’s priorities include administering a program focused on boosting funding to schools in low-income areas, administering student loans and policing schools and colleges for allegations of racial or gender-based discrimination.

Morrow said she’d look to slash the department’s work on racial equity and withhold funding from states that disagree, saying it goes against a “pro-America” approach to schooling.

“They have been literally been tying the hands of the states and saying, ‘You are not going to receive your education dollars from us unless you have [critical race theory] trainings for teachers, unless you have a [diversity, equity and inclusion] program in every one of your counties, unless you are participating in the [social and emotional learning] program,’” Morrow said. “I think we should do the opposite. I think we should say, ‘Alright, you are not going to be receiving funds unless you are pushing a pro-America — a pro-excellence-in-education — merit-based system.’”

A petition on a website associated with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Trump ally, puts forward Morrow to be considered for the education department post. The website enables regular people to make nominations for a variety of government roles. The website says the nominations are for the purposes of public discourse.

Morrow said she didn’t write the nomination herself but would be honored to take the job. She added she hadn’t spoken with anyone on the Trump campaign or White House transition team about it.

Although Morrow lost the statewide race to lead North Carolina’s schools this year — and also lost a 2022 race for a school board seat in Wake County — she said she thinks her views resonated with Republican voters, even if it wasn’t enough voters to carry her to victory in a state Trump also won. Trump beat Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris 51% to 48% this year; Morrow lost to Green by a similar margin.

A spokesman for the North Carolina Democratic Party pointed to Morrow’s lack of success in elections, questioning if Trump would support someone with that record, and added that if Trump did put Morrow in charge of the education department, she “would destroy public schools in America.”

During her run for state superintendent, Morrow had said that, if elected, she’d have North Carolina reject the billion-plus dollars it receives in federal funding for schools. She told WRAL Monday that if Trump picked her to run the department, she’d be similarly focused on making budget cuts on a larger scale.

“I think things are very bloated in D.C.,” she said. “How many people are actually in the U.S. Department of Education? Is it 1,000? Is it 5,000? Is it 10,000 people? That needs to be looked at and streamlined.”

The Department of Education has 4,400 employees, according to its website, which says it’s the smallest of all 15 cabinet-level federal agencies.