ROBBINS, N.C. — Five people were in custody – two of whom were charged with murder – in connection with a fatal drive-by shooting that happened Tuesday evening in Robbins.
Police Chief J. A. Sheffield said the shooting, which happened near the intersection of Hemp Street and N.C. Highway 705 near R&R Auto Supply Inc., stemmed from an argument that happened earlier in the day at one of the suspect's homes.
Sheffield said the victim, Tomas Pedro Pascual, 18, was shot once in the abdomen. He was airlifted to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, where he died. Sheffield did not provide any other information about the crime.
Michael Lee Stidham Jr., 18, and Bryant Andrew McKinney, 16, are both charged with first-degree murder. Authorities charged three other people – Trae Bradley McKinney, 17, Tara Lynette Reynolds, 34, and Benjamin Allen Reynolds III – with accessory after the fact to murder.
Authorities said Bryant McKinney and Trae McKinney are brothers; Tara Reynolds is their mother and Benjamin Reynolds is their stepfather.
A family member of Pascual said he was walking home around 7:30 p.m. with friends when he was shot.
"This is still a shock to us, because we thought Tomas was going to make it out of the wound," his niece, Ester Pascual said. "We didn't think it was that serious."
Pascual was a former North Moore High School student and had recently enrolled at Pinckney Academy in Carthage, a Moore County Schools spokesman said.
North Moore had extra security on hand Wednesday as a precaution, and counselors were also available to talk with students, the spokesman said.
Friends from the high school visited the scene of the shooting and hung flowers and cards on a nearby fence.
"He was so nice, and this shouldn't have happened to him," one student said.
Stidham and Bryant McKinney were being held Wednesday in the Moore County Detention Center without bond. Trae McKinney was being held under a $10,000 bond; Tara Reynolds, a $15,000 bond, and Benjamin Reynolds, a $20,000 bond.
