Authorities in Asheville, North Carolina, say a mass shooting in the heart of downtown that left two people dead and seven others injured was an act of direct retaliation, though officials have stopped short of describing the violence as gang-related in the popular Blue Ridge Mountains destination.
The shooting broke out in the early hours of July 19 near Biltmore Avenue and Short Coxe Avenue, close to downtown Asheville’s restaurants, bars and late-night businesses. Asheville Police Department officers said they were called to the area around 2:20 a.m. and arrived to find several victims with gunshot wounds.
Police said two victims died at the scene despite emergency efforts to save them. Seven more people were transported to Mission Hospital for treatment. Investigators later collected numerous shell casings and described the area as an extensive crime scene.
Pedestrians make their way through downtown Asheville, North Carolina. (Getty Images)
In the immediate aftermath, APD said early evidence pointed to a possible link between the deadly downtown gunfire and a prior shooting. Interim Police Chief Jackie Stepp later confirmed investigators believe the July 19 attack was “a direct retaliatory act” connected to a July 5 shooting at an apartment complex.
Stepp described the deadly incident as the “latest chapter” in what police view as a continuing cycle of retaliatory gun violence in Asheville. She said one person was wounded in the July 5 shooting, and detectives made an arrest in that case.
People walk through downtown Asheville, North Carolina. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Still, during a July 24 community briefing, Stepp declined to label the violence gang-related when questioned by reporters about whether those involved were connected to rival gangs or families.
“These are two groups of individuals,” Stepp said at the briefing. She said the groups had ties because the people involved knew one another and had committed “ongoing retaliatory acts” against each other.
Interim Asheville Police Chief Jackie Stepp speaks during a community briefing about the downtown shooting that killed two people and wounded seven. (Asheville Police Department YouTube)
Stepp said police had identified several persons of interest in the Biltmore Avenue case but were still working to locate and interview them. She also declined to discuss whether those shot were intended targets or to provide details about the connection between the July shootings, citing the active investigation.
A dawn view of the skyline in Asheville, North Carolina, which has seen rising trends of violent crime in recent years. (Walter Bibikow via Getty Images)
The chief said APD was coordinating with local, state and federal partners as it reviewed evidence and tracked upcoming events and large gatherings.
Stepp later reportedly told ABC local station WLOS that gang activity exists in the city, though she maintained the recent shootings are “not traditional gang activity.”
Homelessness and crime have crept into downtown Asheville, critics say. (Getty Images)
At the community briefing, the question whether the violence should be called gang-related resurfaced when a local pastor who identified himself as a gang-prevention facilitator told Mayor Esther Manheimer he had offered the city a prevention program since 2016.
The pastor asked why the program had not been considered as a way to prevent gang violence. Manheimer said she had recently seen his email and wanted to learn more, but pointed to Buncombe County’s community safety and violence-prevention plan and the city’s existing prevention partnerships.
“We’re always open to looking at other ideas,” Manheimer said, adding that the city was seeking ways to expand and improve its response to community violence.
Manheimer also argued that North Carolina’s loosening gun laws and limits on local gun regulations had made it harder for cities to address the problem.
Asheville is nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Buncombe County, North Carolina, and has seen a 31% surge in violent crime from 2016 to 2020. (pawel.gaul via Getty Images)
She said businesses have an increasing responsibility to prevent people from bringing guns into their establishments, though she said recent disputes often escalate after someone retrieves a weapon from a vehicle.
A reporter asked Stepp about prior reporting that a Glock switch was involved. Stepp confirmed the discovery, saying police had recovered one and that “that’s what we saw here.” She did not say whether it came from the shooting scene, a vehicle, a suspect or another piece of evidence.
APD has asked anyone with information about the shooting to call 828-252-1110, submit an anonymous tip through the TIP2APD app or text TIP2APD to 847411.
News Outlet has reached out to APD, Manheimer’s office and the pastor who raised the gang-prevention program for comment.
