Wendell Sanders Jr., a 35-year-old African American male, was tragically killed on March 27, 2017, in Enfield, North Carolina. The incident occurred while Sanders was standing on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. He was with a group of five or six people when shots were fired from a pickup truck that drove by. The drive-by shooting resulted in Sanders' death and left two others injured.
The investigation into Sanders' death led to the arrest of two suspects, Jerrel Jones, 25, and
Montrell Williams, 26. Both men turned themselves in to the authorities and faced charges of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder, and discharging a firearm in connection with a pattern of street gang activity. The State Bureau of Investigation and the Enfield Police Department were involved in the investigation.
The drive-by shooting was a shocking event for the Enfield community, which had not experienced such violence in recent years. Neighbors reported that the group Sanders was with had been walking back from a store when the truck stopped and someone inside opened fire. The motive for the shooting was not immediately clear, and the investigation continued to uncover more details about the incident.
The two other victims of the shooting were also African American males. One was shot in the arm, and the other, 30-year-old Gerald Fowler, was shot in the leg and required treatment at Pitt Memorial Hospital in Greenville. The severity of Fowler's injury raised concerns about his ability to walk again. The community mourned the loss of Sanders, who was remembered as a good person who did not bother anyone.
