Stray bullet kills 81-year-old grandpa eating cereal on New Year’s Day, NC family says
A stray bullet killed an 81-year-old man as he ate cereal in a North Carolina home, leaving his family members reeling, loved ones said.
William Neville, a beloved great-great-grandfather, was sitting down to watch TV when a bullet pierced through the wall of his Halifax County apartment on New Year’s Day, according to ABC11, The News & Observer’s media partner.
“My father didn’t bother anyone and was loved by many,” the man’s daughter, Denise Williams Cherry, wrote Jan. 2 on Facebook. “He never met a stranger.”
Now, the Enfield Police Department said it’s investigating the deadly shooting. Officers called to the scene found Neville, who reportedly had been eating while sitting on a couch or chair when a bullet struck and killed him.
A second person was hit by gunfire and taken to a hospital, where he received treatment and later was released, police wrote Jan. 2 in a Facebook post.
Video from WRAL showed the apartment building boarded up after bullets riddled the exterior.
“To have to go through this on New Year’s Day… no family shouldn’t have to go through this,” neighbor Cleo Johnson told WNCN.
Neville is remembered in news reports and on social media as a “gentle giant” who often went out for coffee.
The police department, which is partnering with the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, asks anyone with information about the shooting to call 252-886-0225.
Cherry also pleaded for people to come forward with tips.
“Put the guns down and stop the senseless killing and shooting,” Cherry wrote. “Last night, it was my father and another young man. Tomorrow, it could be one of your loved ones. Enough is Enough.”
The Halifax County Sheriff’s Office referred questions to the Enfield Police Department, which didn’t immediately share additional details with McClatchy News on Jan. 3. Enfield is roughly 70 miles northeast of Raleigh.
Cherry didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.
This story was originally published January 4, 2024 at 8:02 AM with the headline "Stray bullet kills 81-year-old grandpa eating cereal on New Year’s Day, NC family says."
