Man faces judge in case of quadruple shooting at Wilson County Fairgrounds

A man faced a judge on Thursday just days after four people were shot during a birthday party at the Wilson County Fairgrounds.

Braulio Fuentes-Martinez turned himself in to Wilson police on Wednesday. The 18-year-old appeared in Wilson County court on Thursday and is being held on a $1 million bond.

According to the Wilson County Police Department, around 12:30 a.m. Sunday, Fuentes-Martinez came to a quinceañera at the fairgrounds on Highway 301 uninvited. When guests asked him to leave, police said he went back to his car, grabbed a gun and fired into a crowd of people, injuring four of them. Two of those shot were minors.

"The family is quite devastated," said attorney Eliot Smith. "He’s been a good student, a nice person, by all accounts of family and friends."

Smith said Fuentes-Martinez's family was threatened several times since Sunday and that was partly the reason he turned himself in.

Smith said Fuentes-Martinez has a strong defense and intends to file a bond motion at some point. His next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 20.

Fuentes-Martinez was charged with four counts of attempted first-degree murder, four counts of assault with deadly weapon with intent to kill and one count of possessing a stolen weapon.

The district attorney said the gun used in the shooting was a Ruger LCR that was stolen from a pawn shop in Kansas City, Missouri. How the gun got into the shooter's hands is unknown. When the gun was recovered by police, there was still one bullet left in the chamber.

After the shooting, Fuentes-Martinez attempted to escape in his vehicle and hit another person before hitting three cars and disabling his vehicle.

Fuentes-Martinez ran from the scene on foot.

"All the cars started speeding through, leaving the party," said witness Marlene Castaneda. "I just remember the car just hitting the car I was standing behind. And from there my mind just went blank, I don't know what happened. I was just told by my friend, run!"

"What he did was unbelievable," Castaneda said. "He did cause a lot of pain to a lot of families."

All four people who were shot have been released from the hospital.

The Nash County Sheriff's Office said Southern Nash High School, where Fuentes-Martinez is a senior, was placed under a soft lockdown Monday as a precaution. The soft lockdown officially lifted at 7 a.m. Tuesday.