Friday, September 2, 2011

Pender County, NC: One dead, another in custody after overnight shooting in Rocky Point

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) -- One man is dead and another in jail after an overnight shooting in Pender County. It happened around 10:30 p.m. in the Summit Ridge neighborhood in Rocky Point.

"This is the first time I've seen anything like this in the neighborhood, and it's really shocking and bizarre," neighbor Shannon McHone said.

Pender County Sheriff's deputies charged 34-year-old Michael Grant with murder Thursday afternoon. They say Grant shot and killed his neighbor Anthony Wayne Edens Wednesday night.

Deputies say when they got to Grant's house he fired shots at an officer.

"A deputy returned fire and struck the suspect," Sheriff Carson Smith said. "He ran back inside the house, barricaded himself in. It was very soon after that that we found a victim. A white male that had been shot to death in the area of 505 Brighton."

The 42-year-old Edens lived directly behind grant. Neighbors say it all started with a domestic dispute. McHone says before she heard any shots fired, the suspect's ex-wife and two children came here to her back door pleading for help.

"I don't know how she managed to escape actually, from what her and the children described," McHone said. "I'm surprised she made it to our house."

McHone says after the family was safe inside her house, Grant started shooting.

"He was just walking around, randomly pointing the gun, not up in the air, but out around him and firing off shots," McHone said.

McHone says the ex-wife told her that Grant had a drug problem and was using bath salts.

"She said that it was more or less a paranoia from the bath salts," McHone said. "She said he accused her of cheating with two neighbors, one that lived behind her and one that lived beside her."

Grant was transported to New Hanover Regional Medical Center for treatment on his gunshot wound. He was released to sheriff's deputies Thursday morning.

Grant is charged with first degree murder, attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon on a government official, two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, assault by pointing a gun, communicating a threat and assault on a female.

Because this case includes an officer-involved shooting, the SBI is investigating.

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