Suspect killed after Lumberton grandfather fires at men attempting to rape granddaughter
LUMBERTON (WTVD) -- A Lumberton man is recovering after exchanging gunfire with three suspects who forced their way into his home and allegedly attempted to rape his granddaughter.
Robeson County Sheriff Kenneth Sealey said around 10 p.m. Monday, deputies were called to 67-year-Kenneth Byrd's home in the 100 block of Yedda Road in east Lumberton about a reported shooting.
When authorities arrived, they found Byrd suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. His wife, 65-year-old Judy Byrd, and their 19-year-old granddaughter were also at the home.
The family told officials that the incident started when a man came to their door claiming to have car problems and needed water. Two other men wearing black clothing, ski masks and gloves then forced their way into the house and demanded money.
All three suspects were armed, according to Sealey.
The elderly couple was forced to the back of the home and ordered to open a safe.
The victims told authorities the suspects then tried to rape the couple's granddaughter, which prompted Kenneth Byrd to grab a gun and fire at the men.
The men were injured, before fleeing in Byrd's gold Cadillac. It is unclear if anything was stolen from the home.
Byrd, who was seriously injured, was taken to a local hospital, then airlifted to another hospital.
Shortly after the home invasion, authorities in Lumberton were notified that two men, 28-year-old Brandon Carver Stephens of Fairmont and 17-year-old Jamar Hawkins of Lumberton, had arrived at McLeod Medical Center in Dillon, South Carolina with gunshot wounds and were also airlifted to another hospital for treatment of their injuries.
They later found a third man, 20-year-old Jamie Lee Faison, dead from an apparent gunshot wound inside Byrd's stolen vehicle on Singletary Church Road in Lumberton.
Authorities said they believed Faison, Stephens and Hawkins may have been involved in other home invasion robberies in the area.
Anyone with information about the crimes should call the Robeson County Sheriff's Office at (910) 671-3100.
