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The above video is from WNCT from Tuesday, July 14, and focuses more on Duplin County.
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CLINTON, N.C. (WNCN/WNCT) — State authorities said this week they are assisting agencies in Sampson and Duplin counties after 17 connected shootings — many linked to gangs — have killed at least one person and injured several over the last few months.
In early June, the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office said that a county and federal reward was increased to $7,500 in the then 11 shootings that were possibly gang-related.
State authorities said Thursday that juveniles were suspects in many of the shootings, several of which were into occupied homes. Four raids have led to at least 10 guns seized, including seven rifles.
The shootings included the killing of a grandmother, Annie Jane Faison, 59, an innocent bystander gunned down on May 20 near Turkey in Sampson County, deputies said. About 100 shell casings were found nearby.
The most recent shootings in Sampson County involved three people hit on June 28 by gunfire that stretched from a house party along Faison Highway into the parking lot of a Dollar General, deputies said.
Three victims, who had all attended the large house party, suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the triple shooting in the 9200 block of Faison Highway, according to deputies.
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The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said Thursday that its agents, deputies and police agencies have made four raids since May 21, seizing many guns, ammunition, and cellphones.
“Investigators have identified several suspects — some of them juveniles — and expect more charges as the investigations continue,” the SBI said Thursday.
Below is the list of recent raids and seizures, according to the NCSBI:
- June 30, Duplin deputies assisted Sampson County deputies with search and arrest warrants in the Magnolia and Wallace areas, seizing firearms, ammunition and phones.
- June 12, a search near Wallace by Duplin deputies, Wallace Police, the SBI and ATF found a gun, ammunition, magazines, and several cell phones and other devices.
- May 29, Duplin deputies, Beulaville Police, the SBI and ATF helped Warsaw police serve two more search warrants in Warsaw, seizing firearms and ammunition.
- May 21, deputies and police from Duplin County, Wallace and Beulaville, along with the SBI, searched homes in Kenansville and Beulaville and seized firearms and ammunition.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives offered a $5,000 reward in the shootings in late May. Sampson County deputies added $2,500 to the reward in early June.
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This week, representatives from the two sheriff’s offices held a news conference on Tuesday, speaking about the impact of the 17 shootings.
“We’ve made a lot of seizures of weapons off the streets of Duplin County and also in the Warsaw area,” Duplin County Chief Deputy Charles Weaver said. “I know a lot of people are concerned, and a lot of people are in fear. We just kind of want to get this message out there to kind of give a little bit of peace and trying to calm people’s nerves.”
Authorities said anyone with information about the shootings should contact the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office at (910) 564-5261 or the ATF at 1-888-ATF-TIPS (888-283-8477) or email [email protected].
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WNCT contributed to this report