James Everette Bailey, a 46-year-old African American man, died on August 7, 2018, after being found with a gunshot wound to the abdomen in Moravian Falls, North Carolina. He flagged down a driver on N.C. 18; that driver called 911 and transported him to a gas station in Wilkesboro to meet law enforcement. Wilkes County EMS treated Bailey and he was taken to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, where he later died.

The Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office responded to the shooting at 2:06 p.m. on the day of the incident. Joseph Thomas McCracken, 24, of Moravian Falls was arrested the following day and charged with murder. Bailey was remembered by family and the community for his athleticism in high school and his involvement in his church; his funeral was held on August 18, 2018, at Miller Funeral Chapel.

What information do community members or witnesses have about where Bailey was before he was shot and what led to the shooting?