ASHEVILLE, N.C., Aug. 9 (Nationwide Times) — Two people were killed and seven others were wounded in an early-morning shooting in downtown Asheville, North Carolina, that police say was a retaliation attack linked to an earlier shooting. No one had been arrested or charged in the July 19 shooting in the information released by police and cited in this report.
The shooting happened at about 2:20 a.m. in the 250 block of Biltmore Avenue, near downtown businesses and nightlife. Asheville police said officers found multiple people struck by gunfire. Two victims were pronounced dead at the scene, while seven others were taken to Mission Hospital. Police have not publicly identified the victims or provided their current conditions.
Here is what officials have said about the case and what remains unknown.
What happened?
The Asheville Police Department said officers responded after receiving reports of shots fired and multiple gunshot victims. Investigators recovered numerous shell casings and said the crime scene covered a large area near Biltmore Avenue, Short Coxe Avenue, Dalton’s Distillery and a neighboring Smile Starters parking lot.
The shooting occurred after bars and restaurants in the area had closed, according to Interim Police Chief Jackie Stepp’s account reported by local media. Police have not said whether the victims were visitors or residents, or whether all nine people who were shot were intended targets.
Why do police believe it was retaliation?
Police linked the shooting to a July 5 incident at or near Maple Crest Apartments on Maple Crest Road. One person was injured in that earlier shooting, and police said an arrest was made in that case.
At a July 24 community briefing, Stepp described the July 19 shooting as “a direct retaliatory act” and part of an ongoing pattern of retaliatory violence. She said the people involved were “two groups of individuals” who knew one another.
The department’s initial account described the connection to earlier gun violence as a possibility. Later, Stepp said investigators believed the July 19 shooting was direct retaliation. Police have not released evidence publicly explaining the alleged motive in greater detail.
Was it gang violence?
Stepp has declined to classify the shooting as traditional gang violence. She said gang activity exists in Asheville but described this incident as involving groups of people who knew one another. Stepp said it would be premature to apply a gang label and that police must act on the facts.
That distinction matters because “gang” can refer to a specific legal or investigative classification, while retaliatory violence may involve people connected through personal disputes or informal groups without meeting that definition. Police have not publicly identified the groups or said whether they were organized criminal gangs.
What evidence and investigative steps have been disclosed?
Police said a Glock switch was recovered and used in connection with the shooting. A Glock switch is a device that can convert a semiautomatic handgun to fire automatically. The police statements summarized in the available reports did not identify who possessed the device or connect it to a named suspect.
APD said investigators identified several persons of interest. A person of interest is someone investigators want to question or examine in connection with a case; the term does not mean that person has been arrested or charged.
The department also said it had carried out more than 25 search warrants and subpoenas during the week after the shooting. The investigation involves local, state and federal law-enforcement partners, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
APD had not announced a suspect’s name, an arrest or criminal charges in the July 19 case in the supplied police updates. No court records, charging documents, prosecutor, defense attorney or case number were identified.
What happens next?
Police have said they will continue investigating the shooting and seeking arrests. APD requested tips by phone at 828-252-1110, through the TIP2APD app or by text message: TIP2APD to 847411.
The shooting has raised concerns about safety in a downtown area that attracts visitors for its restaurants, nightlife and mountain tourism. But the available police statements do not establish that tourists were among the victims or that the shooting was directed at visitors or businesses.
For now, the central public account is the one provided by APD: two connected groups were involved, the attack was allegedly retaliation for the July 5 shooting, and investigators are pursuing persons of interest while avoiding a formal gang classification.
