Wilson police search for clues in homicide

Authorities responded to a call at Beacon Pointe Apartments in the 1900 block of Lipscomb Road East about 9:45 a.m. and found Ronnie Earl Griffin, 29, of 3824 Old Coach Road in Raleigh. He was inside a car and suffering from an apparent gunshot wound.

Emergency workers tried to save him, police said, but Griffin died at the scene.

Darden Middle School, located in the 1600 block of Lipscomb Road East, and Barnes Elementary School, on Martin L. King Parkway, were put on lockdown as a precaution after authorities responded to the call, but authorities said there were no security threats to the schools.

Wilson Early College Academy, housed inside Wilson County Community College on Herring Avenue East, was also locked down for about an hour, officials with the school said.

Residents gathered at the apartment complex at lunchtime, some hugging each other and many speaking with police.

Justice Hawkins, who lives yards away from the shooting, said the crime was too close for comfort. She said she heard gunshots outside her window and saw the victim as she looked outside.

“(He was) just laying in the car and I was like, ‘Oh my God. Somebody got shot,’” she said. 

Hawkins said she’s worried about her child being around “all this negativity.”

Another neighbor, Nicole Pittman, said it was disturbing to know bullets were flying in a place where so many children live and play.

“Real nerve-wracking,” she said. “They need to find somebody doing this.”

The homicide is the second in Wilson in two days. Police on Monday responded to an emergency call about 1 a.m. at an apartment at 3510 Ward Boulevard and found resident Eric Tyquan Delonte Williams, 22, with a gunshot wound. Williams died a short time later.

Police said the two shootings, which happened about three miles apart, are not related.

Anyone with information about either crime is asked to call Wilson police at 252-399-2323.