Authorities believe the man who charged a woman outside the Wilson County courthouse Monday, shot her, then exchanged gunfire with a deputy and police officer was motivated by revenge.
Shootings in downtown Wilson
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Abdul Mustafa, 21, was spotted on surveillance video waiting on a bench outside the courthouse around 10:30 a.m., Wilson County Sheriff Calvin L. Woodard Jr. said. The video showed him approach Latoya Lucas as she walked toward the courthouse.
Woodard said Lucas was shot multiple times, and she was in critical condition Monday afternoon.
Mustafa then ran several blocks until he encountered a Wilson County sheriff's deputy and a Wilson police officer, Woodard said. Mustafa and the law enforcement officers exchanged gunfire.
Both the deputy, who was wearing body armour, and the officer sustained multiple gunshots. Authorities described both as stable at the hospital.
Mustafa was shot once, in the arm. He was treated at an area hospital and taken into police custody before 2 p.m.
"We were able to stop the incident and locate the person without anyone else getting hurt or injured and bring him to justice," Woodard said.
Link to teen's June death
Court records show Lucas, 19, was herself facing charges of obstructing of justice and accessory after the fact in connection with a June shooting in which a 16-year-old was killed. A 17-year-old is charged with murder in that case.
Wilson police say LaDarrius Simmons was found dead just after midnight on June 23 inside a home on Spruce Street. An online fundraiser for Simmons' family says he was student at Wilson Preparatory Academy.
Woodard said Monday's shooting appeared to have been in retaliation for Simmons' death. Lucas, authorities said, is the sister of the alleged shooter in that case. Because the suspect in Simmons' death is 17, that person's name is not public.
It's not clear what connection Mustafa has to that case, but Woodard said Monday's shooting appeared to have retaliation for that crime.
Now Mustafa, too, is in jail.
He faces four charges:
- attempted first-degree murder
- going armed to the terror of the public
- discharging firearm within city limits
- damage to real property
WRAL reporters in downtown Wilson captured video of Mustafa being taken into custody.
A second courthouse shooting
Witnesses described hearing multiple shots in the courthouse square.
"We were at the stop light, and we heard gunshots and saw other people taking off running," Tabitha Cates told WRAL News.
Cates said she heard eight gunshots in total.
Karessa Williams also heard shots ring out. "I was so scared. I just ducked down in my car," she said. "I'm praying that everyone is OK. I'm just so shaken up. It was terrifying."
Tawana Burns, who works at an office adjacent from the courthouse, said she saw Lucas lying on the ground in front of the courthouse and ran outside to help.
"I reached down to her. That is someone's baby down there. There was no one else. I told her, 'My name is T. I am here.'"
It was the second time in recent months that a shooting suspect has targeted someone outside a courthouse. A Raleigh woman is charged with attempted first-degree murder after police say she shot two attorneys outside the old Wake County courthouse in downtown Raleigh.
Raleigh Chief of Police Rico Boyce said that suspect, Gwendolyn White, and the victims were in the same courtroom. After White left the courthouse, Boyce said, she returned to her car, got a handgun and shot at the attorneys as they exited the building.
Wilson Mayor Carlton Stevens told WRAL News that security would be stepped up at the courthouse at least for awhile, and that he would consult with the sheriff's office to determine whether stronger long-term security protocols are necessary.
Woodard said security questions are always top of mind.
"We'll do everything in our power to ensure that the courthouse is safe for each and every one," Woodard said. "We do everything within our power we can do, along with our technology, our cameras, and our our working relationship with our partners -- our local and state partners -- to make sure everything is done safely."
