Homeowner shoots, kills intruder; Wake Forest PD launches 3rd shooting investigation 6 days

WAKE FOREST, N.C. (WTVD) -- Wake Forest Police Department (WFPD) responded to three separate shootings over the past six days, making arrests in two cases.

The most recent involved a homeowner shooting and killing an intruder at their home along Abercrombie Drive early Monday morning.

Police tell us at around 3:20 a.m., 34-year old Steven Contestable of Raleigh was attempting to break into the home when he was confronted by a homeowner, who is a legal gun owner. According to a press release, the homeowner gave repeated warnings before shooting Contestable, who police say had broken several panes of glass while trying to get inside.

Contestable died of his injuries. The homeowner, who has not been identified, has not been charged with any crime.

WFPD said this was just the latest in a string of gun violence over the last week.

The first incident happened Wednesday along the 400 block of North Allen Road, which is about a half mile from the police department. Police responded to the scene and found one person who sustained a gunshot wound, and was taken to the hospital.

Three days later, the department announced four arrests connected to the case.

Police arrested Dominique Ramon Lucas, 32, Damien Malik Peacock, 21, Harold Key III, 19, of Wake Forest, and Hezekiah Keanu Foster, 21, of Raleigh.

Lucas is being charged with, one count of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, three counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, one count of discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling, one count of communicating threats, one count of driving while license revoked, and one count of misdemeanor possession of marijuana.

Peacock and Key are each being charged with one count of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, three counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, one count of discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling, and one count of resist, delay, obstruct arrest.

Lucas, Peacock, and Key are being held in the Wake County Detention Center with no bond.

Police said Foster is facing charges of one count of driving while license revoked, one count of misdemeanor possession of marijuana, and one count of window tint violation.

"Bullets don't have names on it. So you kind of are worried about the elderly and the people that's more so the cornerstones (in the neighborhood) here, innocent lives being taken or someone getting hurt behind violence that had nothing to do with them," one man who lived near the scene told ABC11.

He called for a more proactive and consistent police presence, as well as greater resources, including a recreational center and job training programs.

"It's very important because that's the future, and if it does not get corrected, then we're not going to have a future at all. We're going to have a world full of corruption," said the man, a lifelong Wake Forest resident, about opportunities for young adults.

On Saturday, WFPD responded to another shooting in the parking lot of a grocery store on Capital Boulevard.

Two people told officers that a man, identified as Mirza Zukanovic, shot at them following a domestic-related altercation.

A bystander, who witnessed the shooting and is licensed to carry, fired his handgun at Zukanovic who then left the scene, police said in a news release.

Investigators said there were no reports of injuries.

A short while later, officers said they responded to a crash involving Zukanovic along Stadium Drive.

Zukanovic was taken into custody and charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, discharging a firearm in the city limits, driving while impaired, no operator's license, failure to wear a seatbelt, and failure to maintain lane control.

"I think the fact that these were incidents that were basically right next door, a lot of people are talking about that. And a lot of people are becoming aware that more guns don't necessarily make us safer. And we need to address that situation," said Liz Arnold, the Community Outreach Chair for the Wake County Chapter of Moms Demand Action.

Arnold joined the group following the Parkland school shooting, noting two of her children are educators.

"We have a program called BeSmart. We actually partner with the Wake Forest Police Department to present this information at community events. We demonstrate the importance of locking up a gun," said Arnold.

Arnold further stressed the importance of addressing root causes of gun violence, such as housing stability and food insecurity.

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