Family seeks answers after Khamari Harrison killed in Hope Mills: 'The gun violence. It has to stop'

HOPE MILLS, N.C. (WTVD) -- The family of Khamari Harrison, a 16-year-old Douglas Byrd High School student, is searching for answers after she was shot and killed early Saturday morning at an apartment complex in Hope Mills.

Harrison's aunt, Nikesha Pointe, described the last 48 hours as a blur, recalling the moment she learned of her niece's death. "My sister called me, I want to say, about 4 a.m. and everything else is has been a blur. I don't recall getting dressed. I don't recall driving to my brother's house," Pointe said.

Police say Harrison was at an apartment complex on Fox Ridge Drive around 12:20 a.m. when the shooting occurred. According to her aunt, Harrison was with a friend she typically spent time with. "From what we understood, she was around young man that she typically hangs out with. We had was told, you know, she may have been at a house party, but that wasn't the case either. She was with someone that her parents knows and her brother knows," Pointe said.

Hope Mills Police Chief Stephen Dollinger said detectives are still working to determine what led up to the shooting. "We have some leads that we're following up on. But but no, not nothing definitive," Dollinger said.

Police said Harrison was struck on her side near her arm and was rushed to Cape Fear Medical Center, where she later died.

Neighbors, including Seniah Johnson, reported hearing the gunshots. "It was like four or five. Back to back," Johnson said. She recalled seeing Harrison in the aftermath. "When she would get up, she would kind of faint in and out when she would notice what was going on. But she always would get up and ask for water."

Now, only balloons and caution tape remain at the scene.

Pointe made an emotional plea to those responsible. "Whoever is responsible for this, and if it was a mistake, just come out and say it was a mistake."

Pointe remembered Harrison as respectful and kind, a young woman who had recently joined ROTC and dreamed of serving her country. "She was a baby that had a full life ahead of her. So if anything is to be learned out of this, and even with the 100 other cases similar to this, put the guns down, find something else constructive to do with your life. The gun violence. It has to end. It has to end," Pointe said.

Pointe shared that Harrison had just learned she would soon become an aunt for the first time, and the family is heartbroken knowing she will never meet her nephew.

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No arrests have been made, and the weapon has not been recovered. Chief Dollinger urges anyone with information to come forward.

Anyone with information should contact Detective Labretta McBryde at 910-425-3385 or 910-425-4103.