William Earl Wright Jr., a 32-year-old African American man from Southern Pines, North Carolina, was found unresponsive beside a house in the 100 block of Merritt Drive outside Carthage on November 13, 2020. He died at the scene from gunshot injuries and the Moore County Sheriff’s Office opened a homicide investigation.

Authorities arrested 22-year-old Elijah Frederick of Carthage in connection with the killing. Frederick was charged with murder, possession with intent to sell and deliver a controlled substance, felony possession of marijuana, and misdemeanor drug paraphernalia; he was held without bond and had a court date set for November 25, 2020. The investigation into the circumstances of the shooting continued.

Wright is survived by his children Ivy’Ana Wright, William E. Wright III, Xania Ingram, Ah’Lyia Wright, and Emani Wright; his parents Cassandra Vamper and Earl Wright Sr.; and siblings Erik Carlos, Alexander Carlos, Edward Wallace, Irving Wright, and Crystal and Michelle Uzzell. A private memorial service was held November 21, 2020, at The Worship Center in Southern Pines in keeping with Covid-19 mandates.

If anyone has information about what happened on November 13, 2020, please come forward to the Moore County Sheriff’s Office.