A man was shot around noon on Sunday in the 200 block of 72 Sidings Road in Kelford, a Bertie County town of roughly 200 residents, and remained in stable condition after being taken for emergency treatment. Bertie County Sheriff's Office deputies have since obtained warrants for 43-year-old Marvin Gaye Outlaw in connection with the shooting and are asking the public for help finding him.
According to WCTI, the sheriff's office says Outlaw may be driving a gold 2014 Chrysler 300 with a broken windshield. Deputies believe he frequents the Springhill and Indian Woods communities, and anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call 252-794-5330. As reported by 13News Now, the victim's condition has stabilized since he was transported for emergency medical treatment following the shooting.
The Indian Woods area named by deputies carries deep historical roots in Bertie County. It was established in 1717 as North Carolina's first Native American reservation, created for the Tuscarora Nation following the Tuscarora War, according to the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Today it remains a distinct rural township in the southwestern part of the county, not far from where the shooting unfolded.
A Small Town Feeling the Weight of Violence
Kelford's population dropped to 203 residents as of the 2020 U.S. Census, a 19.1% decline from 251 residents a decade earlier, per Wikipedia citing Census Bureau data. The same data shows the town is majority African American, with non-Hispanic Black residents making up 70.4% of the population and non-Hispanic White residents accounting for 22.2%. In a town that small, a single shooting touches nearly everyone.
This is not the first gunfire to rattle Kelford this year. In May, Bertie County deputies arrested a 16-year-old after recovering multiple firearms following back-to-back gunfire incidents that struck an occupied home on Governors Road, the station's report noted. That arrest came just months before Sunday's shooting on 72 Sidings Road.
Sheriff Ruffin's Broader Concerns Over Violent Crime
Bertie County Sheriff Tyrone M. Ruffin, who was elected in 2022 and took office in 2023 before securing the Democratic primary nomination in May 2026 with nearly 89% of the vote according to Ballotpedia, has publicly flagged a rise in violent crime across the county this year. In June, Ruffin held a press conference addressing three separate homicide investigations in Bertie County during the first half of 2026, voicing concern over the trend, as detailed in a report from WCTI 12.
Bertie County itself is a rural, agricultural county spanning 699 square miles with a 2024 population of 17,170, according to Census Bureau figures compiled by Census Reporter. The county's median household income of $48,750 sits well below the state average, and its poverty rate stands at 16.1%, underscoring the economic backdrop against which the sheriff's office is managing a string of firearm incidents.
What Happens If Outlaw Is Located
If deputies apprehend Outlaw, he would likely be booked in Windsor and held at the Bertie-Martin Regional Jail, a joint detention facility on County Farm Road that serves both Bertie and Martin counties, per the sheriff's office. Depending on the charges eventually filed, North Carolina law sets steep penalties for aggravated assault cases. Under North Carolina General Statute § 14-32, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury is a Class C felony punishable by up to 231 months in prison, while assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury without intent to kill is charged as a lesser Class E felony, according to a legal explainer from Martine Law.
Several key details remain unresolved. It is not yet known what relationship, if any, existed between Outlaw and the victim, what motive may have driven the shooting, or whether a weapon has been recovered. It is also unclear whether Outlaw remains in the gold Chrysler 300 or is still in the Springhill and Indian Woods area where deputies say he is known to spend time. For now, the sheriff's office is relying on the public's help to track him down.
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