Dad shot, killed in his front yard on Thanksgiving hours before family gathering

ZEBULON, N.C. (WTVD) -- Damain Cummings could have never imagined the world he'd be waking up to on this Thanksgiving when he learned his 55-year-old father Robert was shot and killed just feet from his home in Zebulon.

Zebulon Police responded to the shooting on West Barbee Street around 1:30 on Thanksgiving morning, finding Robert Cummings' body in the yard of a home across the street from where he lived. Damain said the house where his father's body was found belongs to his Uncle, and that the family believes the shooting all started when his father and uncle argued with a group of people outside the home overnight.

Damain said investigators have said they think those people left, then came back and shot Robert.

"My brain is completely processing it right now," Damain said.

Cummings said he's most concerned for his grandmother, who shared a home with Robert.

"I'm not really too much worried about myself, it's more of like my grandmother right now," he said. "Because she is pretty much by herself right now. But so now I have constantly people coming over here 24/7 to check on her."

Damain said investigators believe alcohol was involved in the fight and shooting, and that as of Thursday afternoon, they have a lead on a possible suspect but are still investigating. He said he wants those responsible to understand the pain that they've inflicted.

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"You took somebody else's life," he said. "Just imagine if that was your child or your dad or your parents. How would you feel?"

Damain said he heard gunshots from his home across the street, but didn't realize they were related to his father until Robert's girlfriend started pounding on his door to tell him he had been shot. He told ABC11 that the family is still numb, now preparing a funeral hours before they were supposed to celebrate Thanksgiving together.

"It's the holidays I'm like, OK, maybe it is just a whole, maybe a joke or something like that that my dad is trying to play and get us to pay attention to him or something like that. But I just really -- just everything is numb," he said.

Damain said they're setting up an online fundraiser to help cover the costs of the funeral.

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