Attorneys call for arrest in Richmond County shooting

ROCKINGHAM — Attorneys for a man who was shot outside a Richmond County home earlier this month are asking why charges haven’t been filed.

According to a press release from Wukela Communications issued Aug. 30, attorneys Harry Daniels and Carnell Johnson have been hired by the family of 23-year-old Jaydn McNeill who was shot by a neighbor on Aug. 22.

The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office issued a press release the day after the shooting, saying that a resident of a home on McDonald Church Road had called to report that someone was trying to enter the home.

While deputies were en route, the caller reportedly told the 911 Center that the male homeowner had fired several shots to get the person at the door to leave — and fired additional shots when that individual failed to leave.

At the time, the RCSO did not identify any of the parties involved. However, the release issued Friday identifies the shooter as 72-year-old Wiliam Griffin and McNeill as the individual at the door.

The sheriff’s office reports that the first deputy to arrive at the scene found McNeill suffering from apparent gunshot wounds and began to administer first aid.

The press release from the attorneys indicates that seven shots were fired and McNeill was shot five times.

Citing the family, the press release states that the McNeills have lived across the street from Griffin for around eight years.

McNeill was reportedly at the neighbor’s home “to talk and spread his Christian faith” when he was shot.

McNeill’s father, Charles McNeill, arrived around the same time as the deputy “and saw his son standing in the front lawn bleeding from his wounds while Griffin was waving two handguns,” the release states.

According to the release, the father said that the deputy “never ordered the armed and agitated Griffin to put down his weapons, pulled his own firearm or even placed Griffin in custody.”

McNeill is still in a hospital and “continues to fight for his life,” the release states.

“The simple fact is that the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office arrived at a scene where a white man, who was still armed, had gunned down a young Black man through his door and did nothing,” Daniels said in the release. “Now they want us to believe that the victim, who has no criminal history, all of a sudden decided to break into his neighbor’s house, in broad daylight, while the neighbor was home without wearing any shoes.”

A search of online state records confirms McNeill has no prior convictions or current pending charges in North Carolina.

Daniels and Johnson are comparing this case to similar situations in Missouri and Florida where young men were shot through the door.

“That’s not just absurd. It’s insulting,” Daniels added. “Jadyn McNeill is fighting for his life in intensive care while his shooter remains free. He deserves better than this.”

“Imagine arriving at a crime scene where one man is waving a gun and another is bleeding out in the front yard,” said Johnson. “I’ll guarantee you that if the races were reversed, Griffin would be in jail right now.”

Bishop William Barber II, former head of the North Carolina NAACP, has even weighed in on the case.

“The preliminary facts of this case are distrusting,” Barber said in a statement. “A young man goes to share his faith and is shot five times through the door and there’s no in-depth investigation and no arrest.

“That means there’s no justice,” Barber added. “We join this young man, his family and national civil rights attorney Harry Daniels in demanding action. There must be a full investigation and a proper arrest.”

The sheriff’s office said in the initial release that the case was still under investigation and that findings would be turned over to the district attorney’s office.

Sheriff Mark Gulledge told the RO on Friday that preliminary information has been shared by investigators with the DA’s office and the case is still under investigation.

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