Police: 18-year-old dies after 3 shot in Hickory; upgraded to murder investigation

HICKORY, N.C. — A triple shooting in Hickory is now a murder investigation after an 18-year-old died from his injuries, according to authorities.

The shooting happened Thursday evening at the Hillside Garden apartments off First Street Southeast at Ninth Avenue Southeast.

Three people were struck by gunfire that day. On Tuesday, police confirmed one of the victims, 18-year old Deveion Lasean Grayson, died.

The lead investigator told Channel 9′s Dave Faherty as many as two dozen shots were fired at the apartment complex that day, and that multiple people were shooting at each other.

On Tuesday, Faherty walked around the area and could see where several cars were hit by gunfire. Police placed evidence markers next to several rounds in the parking lot. One of the rounds even hit an upstairs window of a nearby apartment that had children inside during the shooting.

The mother, Ashley, spoke with Faherty about the experience.

“They’re terrified, traumatized and all that,” she said. “They’re scared to come outside and they shouldn’t have to be scared to come outside.”

Tamoje Daejouir Anderson has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon after police said a 22-year-old man was one of the three people hurt that day when he was shot in the leg. So far, police have not identified the person who shot Grayson.

Faherty spoke with Grayson’s grandmother, who was at the hospital when he died.

“I need to know. Somebody has to tell me something,” Carrie Johnson said. “I need to know why he was so brutally killed. I need to know what he did.”

Anderson, 19, is also the third victim. He was hiding inside a nearby apartment after being shot several times. He was taken to a local hospital but is expected to recover.

Faherty spoke with several neighbors Tuesday who said police have responded to multiple shootings in that part of Hickory, and they’re worried about their safety. That’s why they didn’t want to share their names or show their faces on camera.

“And as it happened, all these parents started coming out and yelling, ‘get your kids, get your kids -- get your kids in the house now,’” one neighbor said. “I mean, that could have taken a lot more than what lives it did take. It could have taken a lot more.”

Police are asking for help in identifying Grayson’s shooter. Faherty asked investigators about a possible motive earlier and they’re not releasing one at this point.

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