Update 12:00 p.m. — The Wilmington Police Department is investigating the shooting on the 200 block of N. 31 St.
According to WPD, "friends and family were gathering for the Celebration of Life for Devin Williams Sunday, February 6, 2022. Williams was the victim of a homicide which occurred last month," gunned down at the same location as Sunday's shooting.
"Upon arriving at the scene just after 6:40 p.m., WPD officers located several gunshot victims. Among the victims are a 33-year-old male, 36-year-old male, six-year-old male, and a sixteen-year-old male victim," WPD said.
According to WPD, all four victims were taken to New Hanover Regional Medical Center. One victim, a 16-year-old boy — a student at New Hanover High School — is currently in critical but stable condition. The other three suffered "non-life-threatening injures," according to WPD.
At least three separate shooting incidents took place this weekend, including a suspect firing shots into the air at Waffle House on Market Street early Sunday morning, and two incidents on Sunday evening: shots fired at the Breezewood Condos off of Carolina Beach Road, and four injured in an apparent drive-by shooting on North 31st Street near Creekwood.
Little information is currently available from the Wilmington Police Department concerning the North 31st shooting. WPD sent a release out around 7:30 p.m. on Sunday evening to say officers were on scene, but that no other information was available. Several sources familiar with the confirmed at least four people had been injured, including two juveniles, one who was six years old according to WECT. No arrests have been made yet.
The New Hanover County Schools district confirmed that one of the people injured near Creekwood was a New Hanover High School student. As a result, a non-conference game scheduled against Cape Fear Academy has been cancelled. Cedric Harrison, a community activist who founded Support the Port and is the CEO of WilmingtonNColor was also injured.
The incident at Waffle House took place around 3 a.m. in Ogden near the intersection of Gordon Road and Market Street. According to WPD, officers "responded to this location in reference to shots being fired. Upon arrival six subjects were detained at gunpoint. Officers were able to determine that the suspect, Elijah Tariq Shepard, 19, was shooting into the air, but prior to WPD officers arriving he tossed the gun under another vehicle."
Officers retrieved Shepard's weapon, a Glock 19, searched him — finding several shell casings — and arrested him. He was charged with Discharging Firearm in City Limits and Going Armed to the Terror of the Public, given an $800 bond, and, according to records from the New Hanover County detention center, has since been released.
Less is known about the Breezewood Condos shooting. According to WPD, "officers located several shell casings ... outside the building along with damage. No persons were injured and no projectiles made it into any apartments. No suspect descriptions/vehicle descriptions," were available.
Anyone with information is asked to please contact the Wilmington Police Department at 910-343-3609 or send a message to 847411 using the keyword WPDNC. The public can also use the Tip 411 app.