Investigators said Jennifer Louise McArthur was visiting friends at the Mount Olive Court Apartments early Thursday morning when she was struck by a bullet during a hail of gunfire.
"The bullets came through the walls and the windows," Mount Olive Police Chief Emmett Bellree said. "She was struck, and she died shortly thereafter."
Neighbors said the apartment complex was mainly resided by families with small children. But, they said, it was not uncommon to hear gunfire in or near the apartments.
"It's a cheaper place to live," resident Carla Seaberry said.
Seaberry said the affordable place she found to live was across the courtyard from where the shooting happened. She moved in just a few week ago.
"You got to find a place to live," she said. "I believe anywhere you go, you'll find something going on."
Investigators don't know why the apartment where McArthur died was the target of a drive-by-shooting.
They are looking for a man whom they would only describe as a person of interest.
"As always, we hope we get more information," Ballree said. "We want people to call in to help solve this crime"
Ballree said McArthur's murder was the second homicide in Mount Olive in six weeks. He said before those two murders, it had been two years since a homicide was recorded in the small town.
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
