Robeson County sheriff’s deputies arrested a 17-year-old boy believed to be connected to a shooting on Wednesday.
Deputies were called around 3:33 p.m. to reports of two homes being shot into and a person who was shot on Blueberry Circle in Lumberton.
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Deputies said when they arrived, they found Betty Mason, 67, who had been shot. She was airlifted to a nearby hospital for treatment. Her condition is not known.
Deputies said after shooting into the two homes, the boy ran into a nearby wooded area. When deputies attempted to approach him, deputies said the teen fired several shots at them. He was taken into custody shortly after. The weapon was also recovered, deputies said.
He is now facing several charges, including:
- Attempted murder
- Assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious bodily injury
- 18 counts of discharging a weapon into an occupied dwelling
- 6 counts of assault on a law enforcement officer with a firearm
- Going arm to the terror of the public
- Possession of a firearm by a minor.
Deputies have not released the name of the teen. He is being held in the Cumberland Regional Juvenile Detention Center without bond. The investigation is still ongoing.
Deputies said there were also reports that a bus was shot at. Deputies said there were no reports by the Public School of Robeson County or evidence of any school buses being shot at.
Deputies said violent incidents involving teens are on the rise and said the trend “must be stopped.”
“While the suspect is now in custody and will face the legal consequences of these actions, we must recognize a deeper issue. Juveniles entering the Criminal Justice System is not the answer. By the time they enter a juvenile detention center, we have already failed them somewhere along the way,” deputies said in a release.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Robeson County Sheriff's Office at 910-671-3100.