AHOSKIE – The Ahoskie Police continues investigating what appears at this moment to be a random shooting that occurred before midnight on Thursday.

Ahoskie Police Chief Troy Fitzhugh confirmed on Friday that shots were fired somewhere in the vicinity of the 500 block of East Main Street.

“One of my officers, W.R. Deanes, was on routine patrol Thursday night and heard several gunshots coming from that area,” Fitzhugh said.

The Police Chief said Deanes reported those shots at 11:12 p.m.

“He (Deanes) went to that area on Main Street at which time he observed a male on foot,” Fitzhugh said. “My officer stopped that individual and questioned him. There was nothing gained from that questioning to make Officer Deanes believe that the individual was involved, so the individual was released.”

Meanwhile, Deanes also noted a vehicle leaving that area shortly after his arrival on the scene, but he could not pursue due to the fact that he was out of his patrol car at the time questioning the individual.

“Another officer was called to search for that vehicle, but it was not located,” Fitzhugh said.

“The officers did check the nearby businesses in that area Thursday night to see if any damage occurred, but none was located,” Fitzhugh added. “When the next shift of officers arrived for work at 6 a.m. Friday, they were advised of what occurred earlier in that particular location and those day shift officers followed up by using the daylight to check for any possible damage.”

Those with information on Thursday night’s incident are encouraged to call the Ahoskie Police Department at 252-332-5012. All information is kept confidential.

The report of this latest incident comes at a time when Ahoskie remains on edge after two recent fatal shootings. The latest of those came July 13 when 33-year-old Dwight Nathaniel Saunders was murdered outside of a residence on Church Street, roughly one block from the area of Thursday night’s shooting.

Cola Terrell Harrell, 29 of Ahoskie, stands charged with first degree murder in the death of Saunders. No motive has been released in that deadly shooting.

In the early morning hours of June 23, Reco Larone Lewis, 29, was shot multiple times and killed while he stood outside of Kennedy Court Apartments. No one has been arrested in that murder.

Those two murders sparked a “Stop the Violence” march last Friday (July 20) in Ahoskie, an event hosted by Pastor C. David Stackhouse and the Unity in the Community Coalition.

Local officials taking part in that event, which included local law enforcement, pleaded with the public to “open their eyes and their mouth” and report acts of violence, to include identifying the perpetrators.