Two 15-year-old boys ended up at ECU Health late Tuesday night after a shooting on Stadium Drive in Kinston, and by Wednesday one of them was behind bars facing an attempted murder charge. Police say the teenagers' injuries, discovered at two separate addresses, were tied to the very same incident.
According to WCTI 12 News, Kinston officers responded around 10:02 p.m. Tuesday to a home in the 1500 block of Charlotte Avenue after a report of a gunshot wound. There, they found a 15-year-old suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the leg. The Kinston Police Department is also the source for the Neuse News account of the incident, which notes investigators pieced together the full picture only after a second call came in from across town.
A Second Teen, A Second Scene
Officers soon received a report of another gunshot wound at St. John Apartments, where they found a second 15-year-old with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the arm, the station's report states. Investigators determined both teenagers were involved in the same incident, which happened in the 500 block of Stadium Drive, according to the same account. Both boys were taken to ECU Health for treatment and have since been released.
The teen who suffered the arm wound was the one taken into custody. He now faces charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, discharging a firearm within city limits, and possession of a firearm by a minor, per the same account. As is standard practice, the station noted that the charges are allegations and the juvenile is presumed innocent unless and until adjudicated delinquent in court. The investigation remains ongoing, and police have not released further detail on how the shooting unfolded or who fired first.
Not an Isolated Incident This Month
The Stadium Drive shooting comes less than a week after another Kinston shooting sent a 29-year-old man to the hospital. On October 3, Kinston police responded to a residence on the 900 block of E. Highland Avenue — identified as St. Johns Village Apartments — regarding a report of a gunshot victim, according to Neuse News. Officers located 29-year-old Marvelous Foy Jr. suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and transported him to ECU Health for treatment; that case remained under investigation as of its October 5 report.
State-level data suggests Kinston is not alone in grappling with juveniles and guns. A 2021 North Carolina Department of Public Safety juvenile justice annual report found that while overall juvenile crime in the state continued trending downward, firearm charges among minors had emerged as what the agency called an alarming new trend, noting that firearm offenses made up just 4% of all juvenile offenses before the state's Raise the Age law took effect in late 2019. The North Carolina Department of Public Safety also maintains a county-level Juvenile Justice Databook tracking offenses and facility admissions statewide.
What the Charges Could Mean
Under North Carolina law, a minor who willfully and intentionally possesses or carries a handgun can be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor, subject to certain statutory exceptions, according to North Carolina General Statute 14-269.7. The assault charge cited in this case stems from G.S. 14-32, the state's statute covering felonious assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflicting serious injury. Neither statute's text establishes how it applies specifically to the Kinston teenager now facing charges, and no court docket or disposition has been made public.
Kinston police have not released additional details about what led to the shooting or whether more charges could follow as the investigation continues.
