‘I’m scared to go home’: Family reacts to Bladen County shooting
CLARKTON, NC (WWAY) — Three people are dead in Bladen County after a shooting early Sunday morning and deputies are searching for the suspect.
“You wouldn’t expect something like that to happen in this small town,” friend of the victims Eric Howard said. “It’s just…it’s awful.”
The community of Clarkton is shocked following the shooting.
“I mean it could have been us. It could have been anybody,” Howard said. “Now I see it isn’t safe.”
The Bladen County Sheriff’s Office was called around 1:30 AM Sunday.
The caller said a man entered their home at 71 Tina Lane, began shooting, then left the scene.
When deputies arrived they found 30-year-old Catrice Lacole Murchison, 27-year-old Ronnie Lebert Kelly, and 60-year-old Guy Lennon Barden Jr. dead and 69-year-old Hazel Epps injured.
The sheriff’s office is looking for 36-year-old Taurean Reshaul Johnson as the suspect.
Epps’ niece says Johnson was no stranger.
“He’s a friend of the family,” Hazel Epps’ niece Tina Gainey. “He’d been in the family for a while. I’ve known him for years.”
She says nowhere feels safe now.
“I’m scared to go home,” Gainey said. “I don’t know what to do. Just pray for the family.”
Hazel Epps has been released from the hospital.
If you have any information contact the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office immediately at 910-862-6960.
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