Pamela Shanks, a 68-year-old woman remembered by her family as a loving person and a source of light and laughter, was killed on the afternoon of Monday, October 19, 2026. Her loved ones described her as a woman who always had something kind to say to everyone she met. Her nephew, Gwasky Mackins, said she was more like a sister to him than an aunt. "She was the light, she made everybody laugh. She made jokes," her niece told a reporter.
"It’s just like now we won’t see that part of her no more, because someone took her life."
On that Monday afternoon, around 4:30 p.m., Pamela was enjoying the day on the back porch of her home in the 1900 block of Hillgate Avenue in Gastonia, North Carolina. Her home, located near Robinwood Road, backed up to Laurel Lane, which sits across from the Dwell Townhomes. Suddenly, the sound of multiple gunshots shattered the neighborhood's peace. A dispute, which family members described as possibly gang-related, had erupted nearby. Witnesses reported seeing several young people dressed in black clothing fleeing the area after the shots were fired. During the confrontation, a stray bullet traveled toward Pamela’s home and struck her.
The Gastonia Police Department responded to the scene and found Pamela Shanks with a fatal gunshot wound. Investigators spent hours at the townhome complex, cordoning off a large area that included a playground. From the outset, police confirmed that Pamela was an innocent victim who was not the intended target of the gunfire. She was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time when she was killed in a place she should have been safe.
The investigation into Pamela's death was immediately launched by the Gastonia Police Department. Detectives began working to piece together the events that led to the shooting, focusing on the apartment complex across the street from her home. Their primary objectives were to determine how many shooters were involved, who the intended target of the violence was, and the motive behind the dispute. As of late October 2026, no arrests had been made in connection with her murder, and police continued to search for the shooters.
The senseless loss left Pamela’s family heartbroken and pleading for justice. Her nephew expressed his profound grief, saying, "I’m going to miss her. I’m going to miss her real bad. That was like my heart." He struggled to understand why this happened to a woman he described as a "really good person." Pamela's niece, who asked to remain anonymous, shared the depth of her pain. “Half of my heart was just like, it was folded and I don’t know which way to go and it hurts so bad,” she said. “I’m still in shock.” She also had a message for those who fire guns recklessly, urging them to consider the devastating impact of their actions. "I just want them to think, it’s consequences behind what you do," she said. "Anything you do dealing with killing somebody, shooting a gun. I don’t care if you’re just shooting in the air, it’s consequences behind that.”
The case remains an active and open investigation. The Gastonia Police Department has asked for the public’s help in solving this crime and bringing closure to Pamela Shanks' grieving family. Anyone with information about the shooting that occurred on Hillgate Avenue and Laurel Lane on October 19, 2026, is urged to contact the Gastonia Police Department.
