Pittsboro, NC – On Wednesday, April 26 at approximately 11:40 a.m., a shooting occurred at the junction of Moore Mountain Road and Hamlets Chapel Road. The victim’s car was fired upon by a black male suspect in his late 20s or early 30s. A 17-year-old victim was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and released from the hospital.
The Chatham County Sheriff’s Office has apprehended one suspect in connection with the shooting. Authorities are continuing to investigate the incident.
During their probe, investigators identified Brian Julius Blackwell, 21, of 1062 Morris Road, Pittsboro as a potential suspect and located him on Friday, April 28 at Seaforth High School where he was attempting to pick up another student. Blackwell is not a student at the high school. Upon searching the vehicle Blackwell was driving, drugs were discovered, leading to Blackwell’s arrest.
Blackwell is charged with maintaining/selling/delivering/possessing a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school, possession of cocaine, maintaining a vehicle/dwelling place for controlled substance, discharging weapon into occupied property, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, possession of drug paraphernalia.
Blackwell’s bond was set at $125,000. He is scheduled to appear in Chatham District Court on May 15, 2023.