James Clark Gales, 74, of Laurinburg, North Carolina, was found unconscious under his carport from a gunshot wound on September 3, 2020, and later died at Scotland Memorial Hospital. Officers responded to a call about a gunshot victim at about 12:40 p.m. The suspect, 30-year-old Justin Jermaine Ellison of Laurinburg, was arrested at the scene without incident and charged with first-degree murder, discharging a firearm into an occupied property, and discharging a firearm into the city limits. He was held without bond and the investigation continued.

Laurinburg police said Gales’ death came within 24 hours of another fatal shooting — Brian Eugene Gibson, 48, was found shot in his car on Biggs Street the night before — and investigators were looking into any possible connection between the two incidents. Detectives were seeking witnesses or other information related to the shootings.

Does anyone in Laurinburg have information about James Gales, the circumstances around the daytime shooting on September 3, 2020, or potential links between the two deaths?