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AHOSKIE – A 13-year-old male is hospitalized in critical condition after being shot here early Thursday morning.

Ahoskie Police Chief Jimmy Asbell said the shooting occurred shortly past midnight at a residence located on Roberts Street.

At that time, Ahoskie Police officers were patrolling that section of town and heard gunshots in the general area of South Catherine Creek Road.

“While responding to that location, dispatch notified officers that a person and a house on Roberts Street had been shot,” Asbell said in a press release. “Upon arrival, officers secured the crime scene at the residence and learned that family members transported a 13-year-old that had been shot to ECU Health Roanoke-Chowan Hospital in Ahoskie.”

Asbell added that the victim was later transported to ECU Health Medical Center in Greenville where he remains in critical condition.

Asbell told the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald that the victim was inside the residence at the time of the shooting.

The Ahoskie Police Department is still investigating this crime and asks anyone with information regarding the shooting to call 252-332-5011.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim and family during this tragic time,” Asbell stated. “I want to thank the members of my staff as well as the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Hertford County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in this case.”