On Tuesday, August 12, a 15-year-old boy was arrested for first-degree murder after allegedly shooting his aunt, uncle, and uncle’s mother inside their Lillington, North Carolina, home.
The suspect is accused of shooting Danny Richards, 57; his wife, Sabrina Richards, 54; and Danny’s mother, Clara Richards, 74. The suspect was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, and one count of assault with a deadly weapon, according to WRAL.
The family was celebrating Sabrina’s 54th birthday when the teen allegedly fired shots at the three adults. At 5:18 p.m., authorities received a call from Danny and Sabrina’s 10-year-old nephew.
When they arrived, they discovered Danny and Sabrina had died from gunshot wounds. Clara, who had been shot in the abdomen, was discovered alive but critically injured. She was then transported to Womack Army Medical Center, where she died several hours later.
The 10-year-old nephew was discovered unharmed in the Richards’ home. Meanwhile, the family’s truck and their 15-year-old nephew were reported missing.
Authorities then conducted a search for Cunningham, and the truck was discovered around 8 p.m. near NC Highway 87 and Nursery Road. According to The Daily Record, authorities discovered the suspect in the woods and arrested him about three hours later.
Maj. Aaron Meredith of the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office told The Daily Record that the suspect’s charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon were expected to be upgraded to a third first-degree murder charge on Wednesday following Clara’s death.
Danny and Sabrina were both United States Army veterans. He was a retired command sergeant major, while she was a retired staff sergeant. Danny served as senior pastor at Genesis Grace Ministry in Fayetteville after leaving the Army.
Emery Carter, one of the couple’s friends, told WRAL that they took in Cunningham to “give him a better life,” adding that he was trying to instill wisdom and discipline in him. So, it’s very unfortunate that this occurred.”
Carter, who met Danny at Fort Bragg and worked his way up the army ranks with him, said the couple was well respected in both the army and the Fayetteville community.
“Amazing is a small smidgen of what describes who they are,” Carter informed the audience. “Loving people, loving of others, love each other, but they also love their community.”
“He literally takes clothes out of his home to give to the homeless,” Carter told me. “He literally takes food out of his house to give to the homeless.”
“He’s a very nice guy, and it’s a sad situation for him and his family,” a neighbor, Donald Greaux, told WRAL. “He loves his family, for whatever the situation was.”
Another ex-Army colleague told ABC11 they were “the definition of selfless service.”
On Wednesday, a representative from the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for additional information.
