Officers responded to the 100 block of Vanderbilt Circle just after 8:30 p.m. Thursday in response to a ShotSpotter alert.
They found a man suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to UNC Health Wayne, where he later died.
Police later identified the victim as 42-year-old Edward Duncan Jr., of Smithfield.
No arrests have been made.
Download the ABC11 News app