HICKORY, N.C. — A Hickory man was stabbed to death Wednesday at an apartment in Kinston, which is in eastern North Carolina, police said.
Brad Brady lived in Hickory but also had a residence in Kinston where he was part owner of an assisted living center. He worked there during the week.
Police said they initially got a call at the apartments on Rose Vista Road about a man being shot.
Officers got there and found Brady on the ground with a stab wound to the chest. He had died. There is no information about a motive or any suspects.
Brady had an apartment in Kinston and worked as a nursing supervisor and part-owner of the assisted living center next door.
Friends said Brady, who was from Hickory, was a gentle giant who put others first.
Todd Beaver knew Brady since middle school in eastern Burke County.
“We have known each other, been best friends for 33 years,” Beaver said.
He doesn’t understand why someone would kill his friend.
“He was there for me through every moment of my life,” Beaver said. “Huge man, 6-foot-8, 300-plus pounds, wouldn’t hurt a fly. There will never be another Brad Brady.”
Brady would come home to Hickory on the weekends to hang out with friends, including James Lutz.
“He was a massive guy, but his heart matched his size,” Lutz said. “He would do anything for anybody. (He) never once let me down as a friend. He was always there.”
Friends said Brady was in the process of buying another assisted living center when he was killed.
“I went through shock,” said Bud Yount, a close friend. “It felt like a bad dream that I couldn’t get out of. He never had a bad thing to say about anyone.”
Investigators told Channel 9 Thursday afternoon there are very few tips and they have not yet identified a suspect.
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