Neighbor: ‘A peaceful, beautiful day turned into a nightmare’
By Kevin Spradlin
PeeDeePost.com
* Update: Shooter released, investigation continues
ROCKINGHAM — An otherwise peaceful residential neighborhood was disrupted early Tuesday afternoon when one man shot another at the end of a physical altercation.
Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
Officer J.C. Neeley, left, and Officer J.A. Gilbert escort a shooting suspect to the back of a Rockingham Police Department patrol car.
Officers with the Rockingham Police Department, personnel with FirstHealth EMS and volunteers with Richmond County Rescue Squad responded at 12:36 p.m. to a home in the 1600 block of Pecan Street, located off Richmond Road in Rockingham, for a report of a gunshot wound. Upon arrival, officers found the shooting victim on the back porch of a single-story home with a gunshot wound to the chest.
By 12:45 p.m., officers had the shooter, identified by a neighbor as “Eric,” last name unknown, in handcuffs heading towards the back seat of a patrol car.
The home belongs to Mary Ellen Smith, who still resides at that location but suffers from Alzheimer’s Disease and is under the care of hospice, said a 40-year veteran of the neighborhood. Smith’s husband, Mack Dewey Smith Jr., died in August at the age of 81.
“Our kids grew up together,” said the neighbor, who asked not to be identified. “A peaceful, beautiful day turned into a nightmare. I just can’t bear that he had to go to jail. This breaks my heart. I would never have believed this.”
The neighbor said the suspect and his girlfriend had moved into the home to take care of her parents. Later, the shooting victim — the girlfriend’s brother — had moved in. They got along for the most part, but another neighbor indicated there had been problems recently in the relationship.
Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
Rockingham Police Capt. E.W. Grant tapes off the crime scene at a home on Pecan Street.
Those apparent problems turned physical, when the shooting victim had a knife and, according to one neighbor, threatened the shooter.
As of 1:19 p.m., police are still on scene. This report will be updated as new information becomes available.
