KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. (WAVY) — A quiet beach community is still shaken 24 hours after a deadly double shooting, and while more questions have been answered, including the name of the suspect in the shooting and the name of the person who was killed, many more remain.
Two people were shot in the parking lot of the Avalon Fishing Pier Thursday afternoon — one person died and another was injured.
Police late Friday afternoon identified the person who died at the scene as Zane Hughes, 19, of Colington, N.C., while Dare MedFlight airlifted a 15-year-old victim to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
Police identified the arrested suspect as Henry Lee Hargis, 16, of Kill Devil Hills. Hargis was taken into custody at 3:19 p.m. by Southern Shores Police during a traffic stop without incident. Hargis has been charged with first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill inflicting serious injury. Because of his age, Hargis is being held in a juvenile detention facility.
Police determined the shooting to be isolated and targeted, and said there is no ongoing threat to public safety as it continues the investigation to process evidence, conduct interviews and work with partner agencies to understand the circumstances behind the shooting. Kill Devil Hills Police said it was only releasing limited details “to maintain the integrity of the investigation.”
A social media post from Avalon Fishing Pier said its property “was used as an end to a feud between two young individuals as one of them was coming off the beach.”
“Yesterday, our property was used as an end to a feud between two young individuals as one of them was coming off the beach,” a Facebook post from Avalon Fishing Pier stated. “One life ended and hopefully, one will get a life sentence. Another tragedy was an innocent bystander was shot in the leg from a ricochet bullet and flown to Norfolk for treatment. Well, here he is this morning ready to go back fishing, pictured with our Jill who helped him before the ambulance arrived. This community is currently doing some serious soul-searching from this incident, but the level of relief to see this young man come through the door this morning has truly lifted our spirits.”
The mother of one of the victims spoke to 10 On Your Side off camera — her son was shot and then quickly flown to Norfolk. He’s going to be OK and was on crutches and in high spirits while back Friday at Avalon Fishing Pier.
His mother said Thursday’s double shooting was a fight between teens, but her son, who was shot in the thigh, was not involved. According to the teen’s mom, her son was just a bystander in the wrong place at the wrong time, as they were visiting the Outer Banks from out-of-state.
And though she feels blessed her son is OK, her family is upset a young life was lost in the parking lot.
It’s something the community, known for its family-friendly atmosphere, is grappling with, even with a suspect in custody.
“We have the vehicle in custody and a weapon was found,” said Kill Devil Hills Assistant Police Chief Dana Harris.
The aunt of the teen shot in the leg, Barbara Long, described what she heard in the aftermath of the shooting.
“When I came out to talk to the police officer, I heard screaming,” Long said. “I turned around, and it must have been the little boy who passed away, his mother. … And then that’s when I got upset, and then I ran over to my other nephew who was there, and I started hugging him.”
Her nephew survived, but she said the trauma will last forever, especially for the mother of the boy who didn’t make it.
“But seeing something like this is awful,” Long said. “It’s actually, I think, more for his mother … because she’s gone through a lot right now.”
Kill Devil Hills Police said the call for shots fired came in at exactly 2:37 p.m., in broad daylight, Thursday afternoon.
“We received calls of shots fired here at Avalon Pier,” Harris said. “We had an officer on scene in less than four minutes. We found two people had been shot. One died and one injured.”
The teen boy who survived will now forever live with a bullet lodged in his thigh. But thanks to quick action from witnesses who gave descriptions of the shooter, a suspect was taken into custody.
“I was actually upset more when I found out, when I saw that little boy there, too,” Long said, “because it could have been him. But I was relieved to see the other nephew. I mean, I just thank God about it.”
