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AHOSKIE – One local man is dead and another is behind bars in a fatal shooting here Tuesday afternoon.

Cameron Jalil Smith, 20, of Murfreesboro was shot while driving a vehicle on Catherine Street shortly before 4 p.m. Smith, who was originally taken to Vidant Roanoke-Chowan Hospital in Ahoskie, was airlifted to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville where he died.

Nygawaun Maurkece Ezell, 24, of Catherine Street Ahoskie, stands charged with first degree murder.

Ahoskie Police Major Jimmy Asbell said Ezell was developed as a suspect during the investigation and arrested at around 2 a.m. on Wednesday at the Police Department where he was taken for questioning.

Ezell is being held without bond and is scheduled to make his first appearance on Friday in Hertford County Criminal District Court.

Asbell said Ahoskie Police units were dispatched at 3:52 p.m. on Tuesday in reference to a “shots fired” call in the area of First Street. Upon arrival, officers discovered Smith inside a vehicle that was stationary at the intersection of First and Catherine streets.

That immediate area was quickly sealed off and the investigation began, to include agents with the North Carolina SBI.

Asbell said the investigation determined that the shots were fired at Smith’s car in the 100 block of Catherine Street, just a short distance from its intersection with Main Street. He added that Smith’s car was northbound on Catherine Street at that time.

The motive for the deadly shooting was not made public.

APD Detective Justin Farmer was the lead investigator and filed the charges against Ezell.

Asbell thanked the SBI, Hertford County Sheriff’s Office, Hertford County Probation & Parole, Hertford County EMS, Hertford County Emergency Management and the Ahoskie Fire Department for their assistance in the case.