One dead as gunfire rattles popular Outer Banks tourist attraction, NC cops say

A 16-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with gunfire that killed one person and wounded a second at a popular Outer Banks fishing pier, according to police in North Carolina.

The shootings happened around 2:30 p.m. Thursday, July 31, at the Avalon Pier in Kill Devil Hills, and the shooter fled before police arrived, the Kill Devil Hills Police Department said.

“Officers with the Kill Devil Hills Police Department ... were on scene within four minutes, where they located a deceased male, identified as 19-year-old Zane Hughes of Colington,” police said in a news release.

“A second victim, a 15-year-old male suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg, received medical attention and was airlifted to Norfolk, VA, by Dare MedFlight.”

A suspect was arrested “without incident” around 3:20 p.m. during a traffic stop in Southern Shores, police said. He has been identified as 16-year-old Henry Lee Hargis of Kill Devil Hills, police said.

Hargis has been charged with first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill inflicting serious injury, officials said. He being held in a juvenile detention facility, police said.

A weapon was found in his vehicle, police said at a news conference.

Investigators are still working to determine a motive for the shootings, which occurred in the parking lot.

The 15-year-old victim is from Pennsylvania and was shot in the thigh, WTKR reports. The boy was fishing at the time he was shot, his father told the station.

Avalon Pier officials say the wound was caused by a ricocheting bullet, and the young angler returned Friday on crutches to continue his fishing.

“This community is currently doing some serious soul-searching from this incident, but the level of relief to see this young man come through the door this morning has truly lifted our spirits,” the pier wrote in a Facebook post.

Southern Shores, where the arrest occurred, is about an 8-mile drive northwest from Kill Devil Hills.

Avalon Pier is considered a family fishing attraction, with an arcade, beach bar and snack shack. The adjoining fishing pier extends nearly 700 feet into the Atlantic Ocean.

This story was originally published August 1, 2025 at 12:02 PM with the headline "One dead as gunfire rattles popular Outer Banks tourist attraction, NC cops say."