16-year-old among 2 killed in shooting at North Carolina Halloween party

ROBESON COUNTY, N.C. (WBTW) — Two people are dead, including a teenage boy, and nearly a dozen are injured after a shooting at a large Halloween party in North Carolina late Friday night.

Nehemiah Locklear, 16, and Jessie Locklear, Jr., 49, were found dead just after 1 a.m. at the scene of a “large house party” in Maxton, about 100 miles southeast of Charlotte and not far from the South Carolina border. The boy and man were not related, authorities said.

Eleven other people between the ages of 17 and 43 were shot, including multiple teenagers.

Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins told Nexstar’s WBTW on Saturday that roughly 300 people were at the Halloween party. He described the event as a “large house party” with “dozens of videos posted online” showing underage drinking and people with guns.

“When the deputies arrived and even before they arrived, they were being notified that there were several people shot here, and as they were arriving, some of the people that were shot were arriving at hospitals both in Lumberton and Scotland County,” he said.

Deputies said more than 150 people ran away before they got there.

“There were well over 300 people here, but we’re still early in the investigation. There’s a lot of interviews taking place, but apparently, there was a confrontation between a couple of groups of people, and then gunfire between those two started, and innocent people were shot,” Wilkins said.

WBTW obtained video, viewed below, from the scene showing a dirt road lined with vehicles trying to leave as law enforcement arrived.

Wilkins’ office said the shooting was an isolated event and that there is no current threat to the community. Multiple law enforcement agencies are involved in the investigation.

Responding agencies included the Hoke County Sheriff’s Office, the state Department of Alcohol Law Enforcement, the North Carolina Highway Patrol, Maxton Police Department, and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.

“Those responsible for this reckless and heartless act must be held accountable,” Wilkins said. “This was yet another senseless act of gun violence that has taken the lives of two individuals and left many others seriously injured.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 910-671-3100.