06-14-2011, 09:07 AM
DURHAM -- A Durham man shot and killed three of his friends in bursts of gunfire inside a car along an empty stretch of Research Triangle Park, authorities disclosed Sunday, leaving behind stricken families and friends, and lots of questions.
He then killed himself, authorities said.
The alleged shooter and victims were all in their 20s - some had apparently been friends in high school - and deputies said they believe they know what's behind the killings, which were carried out late Friday and discovered early Saturday on N.C. 54.
But they would not elaborate, other than to say that drugs or gangs were not the reasons.
"We are not saying right now," Durham sheriff's Lt. Stan Harris said. "We are still conducting some interviews. We have families who are grieving. We are not going to get into it right now."
Durham County Sheriff Worth Hill called what happened a triple murder and then suicide, and also said he could not discuss his office's theory of what happened.
"He shot them, then shot himself," the sheriff said, declining to answer other questions.
The shooter was identified as Brinton Marcell Millsap, 23, of Mellon Court in Durham.
The victims:
♦Alexandria J. Baker Pierce, 23, of Oriole Drive in Durham.
♦Amesha Alia Page-Smith, 24, of Roane Street in Durham.
♦Adrianne Celeste Stevens, 22, of Buffalo Way in Durham.
Authorities said that Millsap did not have an extensive criminal record. Court documents show that he was charged last year with carrying a concealed weapon and resisting an officer, both at the misdemeanor level.
A close friend of his, La'Teish Breeden, said that none of the people involved was in "street" life.
"They weren't troublemakers - they went to church, they were family-oriented people," Breeden said. "All of us are in the same boat: We can't understand why."
She said Millsap attended Southern High School in Durham several years ago with both Page-Smith and Stevens.
full article: http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/06/13/1...mself.html
He then killed himself, authorities said.
The alleged shooter and victims were all in their 20s - some had apparently been friends in high school - and deputies said they believe they know what's behind the killings, which were carried out late Friday and discovered early Saturday on N.C. 54.
But they would not elaborate, other than to say that drugs or gangs were not the reasons.
"We are not saying right now," Durham sheriff's Lt. Stan Harris said. "We are still conducting some interviews. We have families who are grieving. We are not going to get into it right now."
Durham County Sheriff Worth Hill called what happened a triple murder and then suicide, and also said he could not discuss his office's theory of what happened.
"He shot them, then shot himself," the sheriff said, declining to answer other questions.
The shooter was identified as Brinton Marcell Millsap, 23, of Mellon Court in Durham.
The victims:
♦Alexandria J. Baker Pierce, 23, of Oriole Drive in Durham.
♦Amesha Alia Page-Smith, 24, of Roane Street in Durham.
♦Adrianne Celeste Stevens, 22, of Buffalo Way in Durham.
Authorities said that Millsap did not have an extensive criminal record. Court documents show that he was charged last year with carrying a concealed weapon and resisting an officer, both at the misdemeanor level.
A close friend of his, La'Teish Breeden, said that none of the people involved was in "street" life.
"They weren't troublemakers - they went to church, they were family-oriented people," Breeden said. "All of us are in the same boat: We can't understand why."
She said Millsap attended Southern High School in Durham several years ago with both Page-Smith and Stevens.
full article: http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/06/13/1...mself.html