Four people shot in Wayne County during Labor Day weekend

Goldsboro police told WRAL News that officers responded just before 2 a.m. on Sept. 3 to Heroes Sports Oyster Bar and Grill at 3009 Ash St.

Airic Murray, 25; Quentin Carlton, 24; and Kewon Swinson, 27, were wounded in the incident. Police said Murray and Carlton were treated and released, but Swinson had to be taken to ECU Health in Greenville for his injuries.

Around 24 hours later, Goldsboro police said they responded to a shooting call near the intersection of North Center Street and Raynor Street, where they found a car pulled off to the side of the road. Police said the driver, Daniel Atkinson, had been shot in the head.

Atkinson was hospitalized in critical condition.

“We are out of control, that’s what it says,” Francine Smith said.

Smith has been working to combat gun violence in Goldsboro for more than 15 years. She's seen friends lose children to shootings, and her biggest concern recently has been the community’s response to instances of gun violence.

“We have made people getting shot and killed the norm, and it should not be the norm,” Smith said. “We should all be outraged that this happened this weekend.”

Police haven’t named suspects or described the events leading up to either shooting, citing both as still under investigation.

Activists have been holding public conversations about gun violence in Goldsboro for months, including a roundtable discussion with the police department that took place in late June.

Goldsboro man dies after city's fourth shooting in five days

However, Smith said the holiday weekend was evidence enough that more needs to be done.

“That violence is not just something that we all shake our head at and move on,” Smith said. “That we do something constructive to deter people from doing this.”