Wilmington neighbor remembers 14-year-old boy killed in shooting

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A Wilmington neighborhood is mourning after a 14-year-old boy was shot and killed Tuesday night.

Wilmington police said officers responded to the area of South Fifth Avenue and Dawson Street shortly after 8 p.m. The boy was found suffering from life-threatening injuries and was taken to Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center, where he later died.

Pastor Phillip Johnson lives near the intersection and said the shooting happened in the parking lot of a nearby Dollar General.

But for Johnson, the shooting is more than a crime scene. He believes he may have known the boy and remembers seeing him as a young child.

Johnson said he knew the boy’s mother years ago and knows his grandmother.

“I think I might know him cause I knew his mother years ago and I know the grandmother,” Johnson said. “Cause when he was a baby, I used to tell her, keep his hair cut, keep his hair cut, so I used to say that’s a blessing you keeping your grandson’s hair cut.”

Johnson said those memories made the boy’s death especially difficult.

“Far as I’m concerned, he was a good kid, he wasn’t bad,” Johnson said.

Johnson added he did not hear the gunshots and that he had never seen so many cop cars before when they responded to the scene.

Police have not released the boy’s name.

The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the Wilmington Police Department or submit a tip through Tip 41