Homeless man charged with murder at Solomon Towers

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — What started as a friendly visit at Wilmington’s Solomon Towers quickly turned into a murder scene last night. When a tenant made a quick trip to the store, he returned to find one of his guests dead and the other no where to be found. It was around 2 a.m. Wednesday when Wilmington Police received a call that a man was found dead in an apartment on the 10th floor.

“It’s a dead end. It’s a nice, quiet neighborhood because there’s only three houses here,” neighbor Sandy Cortello said.

Cortello lives across the street from the Wilmington Housing Authority’s Solomon Towers, but early Wednesday morning was anything but quiet.

“I’m surprised,” she said. “I’m totally surprised. I mean, I don’t know what else to say. I just would not expect that.”

Wilmington Police responded to a call of a man lying dead in an apartment. Police say a tenant had two homeless men over, but later left his apartment to go to the store. When he returned, 42-year-old Reginald Burke Bunton was dead on the floor.

“It ain’t very often it happens, but some of the neighborhoods are bad,” said Carrol Mallard, who lives nearby.

Wilmington Police arrested Haneef Adib Rahamann, Jr., and charged him with first degree murder.

Solomon Towers offers housing to low income, disabled and senior citizens. Neighbors say it’s normally a pleasure living in this part of downtown.

“Everybody’s friendly and cordial that comes in and out of there, and most of the people going in and out are visiting the people that live in there,” Cortello said. “They’ll go and get groceries for them. Nurses come by to help give them medication, what have you. So I have never seen a problem there at all.”

Rahamann is in the New Hanover County Jail without bond.