Spring Lake man shot, killed in parking lot of popular Hope Mills restaurant

Waverly Aldrich, 38, was shot to death outside of a pick-up truck in the parking lot of Grandsons on Chicken Foot Road in Hope Mills.

Hope Mills Police Chief Stephen Dollinger told WRAL News he believes the shooting resulted from an argument that happened at a nearby Circle K.

"It looks like there was an argument between Mr. Aldrich and some other people, but that's still very preliminary. We don't know if they knew each other or didn't know each other," he said.

Police said that Aldrich's girlfriend was driving the pick-up truck at the time of the shooting and was not hurt. Police are hoping she will give them more information about what happened.

Grandson's manager who spoke to WRAL News said he's glad that the shooting happened while the restaurant was closed. The parking lot is usually packed with visitors, and more people could have been hurt if the shooting happened while the restaurant was open.

The manager said he didn't know anyone involved in the fight and believed that the argument was not connected to the restaurant.

Police have not made any arrests in connection to this shooting.