LUMBERTON — The Robeson County Sheriff’s Office has a suspect in a shooting Sunday that killed a woman and left a man wounded.
Nylah Vereen, 20, and Rockeiem Young, 25, both of 5770 N.C. 211 in Lumberton, were shot Sunday near their home at Dogwood Mobile Home Park on N.C. 211, according to Maj. Anthony Thompson.
“I held Nylah in my arms and watched her take her last breath. It was hard,” said Tressa Carter, a neighbor of the two.
Young was taken to Southeastern Regional Medical Center.
“I don’t know where it happened, but she was found deceased inside the home,” Thompson said. “He was shot in the hand and the leg.”
Deputies responded to a call about two people shot at 6:27 p.m., he said. When lawmen arrived, they found a dead woman and a man suffering from gunshot wounds.
“As far as motive and a suspect, we have both,” Thompson said. “That is all I will say.”
A neighbor, who asked that his name not be published, lives near Vereen and Young’s home. He was placing a bouquet of flowers on the front steps of the couple’s home when he was approached Monday by a reporter from The Robesonian. He will be called Bill for this article.
“It started off as an argument. A confrontation started outside, around 5 (p.m.),” Bill said. “Nylah and Rockeiem went inside their home to cool off the situation.”
Bill said he went back inside his home thinking the confrontation was over. Shortly thereafter, he heard five gunshots.
“I asked my wife, did you hear that? That’s when I went outside and saw the neighbor who started the argument call a bunch of people over,” he said. “I saw them packing up their kids in two cars and speeding off.”
Two women and a man fled after the gunshots were fired, Bill said.
Bill said he saw Vereen “slumped over in a chair, when they left up out of the house. Her little brother and sister saw the shooting happen.”
The crime tape had been taken down, but evidence of a shooting was apparent Monday at Lot No. 6. The steps, door and mini-blinds that appeared to have been pulled off the wall were all stained with dried blood.
“They were nice respectful people,” Bill said of the shooting victims. “This is a tragedy. She didn’t get to live her full life. She was just 20 years old.”
Carter, who has lived at the mobile home park for more than five years, said the young couple were quiet and rarely seen. She became friends with them after they moved to the park about a year ago.
“They were good people. They kept to themselves,” Carter said. “If you look at her social media, a lot of people liked her. We see some altercations, maybe even a random break-in but nothing like this.
“It is really sad. My son was shot in February. Having to see this took me back.”
Carter called the police when the argument began and again after the gunshots were heard, she said.
“That neighbor is always rude and starts mess with everyone in this mobile park,” Carter said. “I’ve even had a couple run-ins with that same neighbor. I won’t go into it now, but there were some violent incidents in the past.”
