Mom, 2 daughters shot in Goldsboro neighborhood on Saturday night

GOLDSBORO, N.C. (WTVD) -- A mom and her two daughters were shot in Goldsboro on Saturday night.

Goldsboro Police Department said it received an emergency call around 8:15 p.m. about a shooting on Day Circle, just south of Slocumb Street.

When officers arrived, they found 34-year-old Sadel Horton injured from a gunshot. They also found her 12-year-old daughter, who had been shot multiple times.

Both were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Horton was treated and released, but the 12-year-old had to then be taken to ECU Health in Greenville for more specialized care.

A third shooting victim, the woman's 13-year-old daughter, arrived at the Goldsboro area hospital later. She was treated and released without any major complications.

While the mother and older sister have been released from the hospital, they remain by the 12-year-old's side as she works to recover.

People who live near the Hortons said someone who knew them opened fire without warning Saturday night.

"The kids were all right here and as soon as I walked out the door I sat down in the chair right there, and I saw them walking over right this way. Next thing I know I hear gunshots," a neighbor told ABC11. "They ran behind me. All the kids. Both of the females that got shot, they came behind me and I tried to help them as best as I could."

Goldsboro Police Department said the investigation into the shooting remains open and active. No shooter or shooters have been identified.

The department said it had seen 48 shootings that injured someone or damaged property so far in 2023. In the same time period, there were 727 Shot Spotter alerts identifying nearly 4,000 rounds of gunshots -- that's up 68 percent from the same time in 2022.

Community Activist Richard Taylor said this type of violence is unacceptable.

"When the violence starts to injure women and children, then we know we have an issue in the overall community. And the fact that a lot of these shootings and murders go unsolved, that's a deeper problem in the community," he said.

Taylor runs an after-school program specifically designed for his community. It's called "The Keys To Making Wise Decisions." He said it's based on a book written by a man serving a double life sentence and hoping to help others not make the same mistakes.