Police said the young man shot “in self-defense” at the suspects who fled. Police officers found one of the suspects, 19-year-old Khalil Herring, at an intersection near Ellis’s home, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound, the statement said.
“Preliminary evidence suggests (k) that Khalil Herring was one of two masked intruders and was shot during the assault,” said police.
Ellis and Herring were transported to Wayne UNC Health Care in Goldsboro for treatment. Herring was later declared dead. Ellis, the young man’s grandmother, was treated for injuries that were not fatal and is currently listed in stable condition, Goldsboro police said.
When contacted by CNN, a Goldsboro Police spokeswoman did not provide any information about the second suspect in the attempted robbery.
Randolph Bunn, who said he was the young man’s great-uncle, told WTVD that he was in the house when the invaders forced entry and that one of them was armed with a gun.
“(The intruder) just shot his grandmother … He would have shot him too, he would have shot me too, he would have killed us all,” Randolph Bunn told WTVD.
“Why would anyone come into her house and do that? It has to stop,” said Coley. “I don’t know what they’re thinking here in Goldsboro, but it has to stop.”