'He wouldn't leave her alone:' Friend said woman tried to leave boyfriend before shooting, kidnapping

Rocky Mount police said officers arrived at a home at 2112 Leggett Road and located Deante Antoine Jefferies with a gunshot wound. Jefferies was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said a man at the scene of the shooting was seen taking Shenika Arness Shaw against her will before fleeing in a dark passenger vehicle.

Shaw was later located unharmed and reunited with her family, authorities said.

Tiera Dancy, who is Jefferies' cousin and Shaw's friend, said the shooting and kidnapping stemmed from a domestic incident. She said Jefferies was shot while trying to defend Shaw.

"I could smell the gun smoke. I could see his face," Dancy said.

On Saturday night, Dancy called Shaw to babysit her two boys while she went to work overnight. Shortly after, Dancy said her friend's boyfriend showed up.

"She had been saying she was going to try and get away from him. She was trying to get away from him, but he wouldn't leave her alone," she said.

Dancy said the interaction grew dangerous.

"He continued to grab her. My cousin came around the corner like 'you're not going to be grabbing a female in front of me.' Before he could get that whole sentence out, he shot him three times and drug her out," she said of the altercation.

Neighbors said gunshots are common in the area, but they are usually the resulting of hunting.

"It was a pow, pow, pow, but I thought someone was knocking at the door. I looked up and there's 17 police cars," one neighbor said.

Rocky Mount police on Sunday night were still searching for the unidentified suspect, who is considered armed and dangerous.

"My kids was in the house and you brung the devil in here," Dancy said of the suspect.

Dancy said her children are safe, but life will not be the same without Jefferies.

"We call him a gentle giant. You know, he kept a smile on his face and tried to make sure everyone around him was great," she said.

Dancy said she will spend her life making sure her gentle giant gets justice.

"I"m going to do everything I can. I'm going to try and mke it as right as I can in this wrong situation. That's all I can do," she said.

Anybody with information is asked to call Rocky Mount police at 252-972-1411 or Crime Stoppers at 252-977-1111.