WADESBORO — Police in Wadesboro said a high school athlete was killed and his cousin seriously hurt on Monday after gunfire erupted following a pickup basketball game.
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"This is devastating. It doesn’t make sense. It should be a rallying call,” said Steve Adams, lead pastor at Harvest Ministries.
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Adams built a basketball court to give young people a positive outlet. A large group of teens gathered to play on it Monday, but police said an altercation took place on the court.
A group of teens then left in a car.
“Another vehicle followed them to another location and that is when the shots were fired at the car,” said Wadesboro Chief of Police, Thedis Spencer.
Chrishaun Hough, 15, a Monroe High School student, was shot and rushed to a hospital. His 16-year-old cousin, Malik Byrd, a student and football player at Anson High School, was shot and killed.
Loretta Williams has been at Levine Children’s Hospital with her son, Hough.
"For Malik life to be taken like it meant nothing, and now my son is lying here in this hospital. It's not fair,” Williams said.
She is also Hough’s aunt.
"If anybody knows anything, come forward. It’s not snitching, because these boys are innocent,” Williams said.
Police were still searching for the gunman Tuesday and were encouraging people to come forward and talk to detectives to help solve the case.
(Malik Byrd)
Hough’s mom told Channel 9 her son and nephew were in the wrong place at the wrong time. She said her son was still in the hospital and could be paralyzed.
Hough recently received a Wayfind Scholarship. The academic scholarship is given to future first-generation college students with good grades, good attendance and in good academic standing.
Adams, who is also a coach at Anson High, said Malik was a good student and a good football player who had just received an award for his athleticism.
Hough is among a small group of students to receive a Wayfind Scholarship from Wingate University.
He worked hard to get good grades and hopes to be the first in his family to go to college.
The Wayfind Program sent Channel 9 a statement Wednesday that said Hough is a cherished member of the Wayfind family and they are rooting for his recovery.
His family has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for his medical expenses.
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