A man was charged with attempted murder after shooting into a crowd of people at a North Carolina Christmas parade Monday night.
Sanford Police Department chased down Deion Jamille Johns, who they believe fired into the crowd, reports WRAL.
Police charged Johns with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and discharging a firearm within city limits, among other charges. Johns is jailed under a $360,000 secured bond.
The shooting occurred about an hour into the parade in the Rite-Stop grocery store parking lot. Witnesses said that bystanders didn’t realize what was going on because a motorcycle caravan was in the middle of passing by.
About six seconds into the shooting, officers who were monitoring the parade rushed to the parking lot.
“I heard about seven or eight gunshots. I was standing at the door and as soon as I came in the store, before I even hit the counter, that’s when I heard the gunshots,” Abdo Alwahishi, the owner of the Rite Stop Shop, said.
Two teen boys were injured in the shooting. One of the victims, 18-year-old Sean Dimitrius Matthews, suffered from injuries to his lower abdomen, arms and leg. He is currently listed as in critical condition.
Another victim, 16-year-old Jadakis Tysor, received injuries to his arm.
Surveillance videos from Alwahishi’s store show a man firing into the crowd. Alwahishi later released the videos to the police for their investigation.
“It was scary. Cause everybody was nervous and as soon as they heard the gunshots, people were running inside the store and people were running out,” Alwahishi said. “People were also running in the other direction hoping that the bullet wouldn’t hit them.”
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