Fayetteville police shoot suspect in triple homicide

The suspect of a home invasion was in the hospital Saturday night while Fayetteville police tried to pick through a crime that left three people dead and two others wounded.

Sgt. Gary Womble said that police got a call about a break-in happening in a home at 288 Ingram St. around 9:45 a.m. When officers arrived, they found two people dead, and three injured. One of the injured died Saturday afternoon at Cape Feat Valley Medical Center. 

Police said the shooter had left the scene by the time they arrived, but officers spotted his vehicle on Person Street.

"I heard one police car with the sirens going down the road, and I thought it might be a high-speed chase," said Shawnita Waters, who lives nearby. "Then I heard another one, and that's when we jumped out."

The driver refused to stop, and officers gave chase until he ditched his vehicle in the 200 block of C Street and started to run away. Police said that officers followed him on foot, saw that he was armed and fired at him.

The suspect was injured and taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center.

Three people including the suspect remained hospitalized Saturday evening, and police were not releasing the names of any of those involved. That made for a day of worry for friends and family.

Gracie Bowens' nephew lives at the home that was attacked. 

"I don't know if somebody just broke in and tried to burglarize them. I really can't say right now. They're not letting us know. It's really got the whole family upset," she said.

The State Bureau of Investigation has been called to investigate the use of force by officers, and the officers involved have been placed on administrative duty. Those moves are standard procedure when an officer fires a gun. 

Saturday's deaths mark the second high-profile homicide in Fayetteville this week. 

On Wednesday night, Benita Diane McMilan, 26, and her cousin, Tierra Nicole Underwood, 29, were shot to death outside an apartment at 209 Melvin Court. Jermaine Lamar Johnson, 24, McMilian's boyfriend with whom she had a child, was charged with killing the women.

Also, early Friday, two people fired gunshots around a crowd gathered for post-Thanksgiving sales at Cross Creek mall. No one was injured, and no arrests have been made.