Robert Shorter Jr., a 30-year-old African American man, was shot and killed on March 13, 2021, in Wilmington, North Carolina. Police responded to a ShotSpotter alert near the 800 block of Walnut Street in the early morning and found Shorter with a gunshot wound; emergency medical services pronounced him dead at the scene.

The investigation identified a neighbor, 63-year-old Michael Nelma, as the shooter. Nelma allegedly returned home around 12:30 a.m., heard an argument in his backyard, and encountered Shorter holding a knife and a brick and setting some of Nelma’s belongings on fire. Shorter reportedly made verbal threats as he left Nelma’s property and was shot while walking on the sidewalk about 50 yards away. Nelma called police and was arrested and charged with second-degree murder; he later pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and received a prison sentence of 64 to 89 months. Shorter’s mother forgave Nelma at the plea and spoke of her grief over losing her third child.

Did anyone in the area witness the argument or events that night and has additional information to share?